12. What is metamorphic recrystallization?

Metamorphic rocks are products of metamorphism or that is to say the transformation of a rock by recrystallization and by crystallization of new stable minerals under metamorphic conditions maintaining the solid state.

Explanation:

The most important factor of metamorphism is heat, which provides the energy that drives the chemical changes that cause recrystallization of existing minerals or the formation of new minerals. Remember that an increase in temperature causes the ions inside a mineral to vibrate faster. Even in a crystalline solid, in which ions are linked by strong bonds, this high level of activity allows individual atoms to migrate more freely within the crystalline structure.

Heat affects terrestrial materials, especially those formed in low temperature environments, in two ways. First, it encourages the recrystallization of individual mineral grains, which happens, in particular, with clays, fine-grained sediments and some chemical precipitates. Higher temperatures cause recrystallization when the finest grains tend to bind and form larger grains of the same mineralogy.