Metamorphic rock is the result of the transformation of a pre-existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and ...

The Rock Cycle is Earth's great recycling process where igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks can all be derived from and form one another. Analogous to recycling a Coke can, where an old can ...

Researchers have discovered microdiamonds in the Nishisonogi metamorphic rock formation in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Microdiamonds in metamorphic rocks are important minerals because they form in ...

Researchers have produced a new estimate for the origin of Earth's plate tectonics—the movement of large chunks of the planet's outer layer, or crust. Although there is broad consensus that plate ...

A new study of rocks that formed billions of years ago lends fresh insight into how Earth's plate tectonics—the movement of large pieces of Earth's outer shell—evolved over the planet's ...

Some rocks are very common on earth. Large portions of the continents consist for example of granite and basalt covers almost all of the oceanic crust. Other rocks are formed only when very specific ...

High-pressure metamorphic rocks form during subduction of Earth’s crust to mantle depths at convergent plate margins. Their exposure at the surface of Earth today provides a record of the subduction ...

Collectors of all ages have always been interested in rocks and the minerals that make them up. They come in countless shapes, sizes and colors. There are three main types of rocks: sedimentary, ...

Clear evidence for subduction-induced metamorphism, and thus the operation of plate tectonics on the ancient Earth has been lacking. Theoretical calculations indicate that we may have been looking for ...