geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, solid-state recrystallization is a metamorphic process that occurs under high temperatures and pressures where atoms of minerals are reorganized by diffusion and/or dislocation glide. During this process, the physical structure of the minerals is altered while the composition remains unchanged. This is in contrast to metasomatism, which is the chemical alteration of a rock by hydrothermal and other fluids. Solid-state recrystallization can be illustrated by observing how snow recrystallizes to ice. When snow is subjected to varying temperatures and pressures, individual snowflakes undergo a physical transformation but their composition remains the same.

Limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

is a sedimentary rock that undergoes metamorphic recrystallization to form

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

, and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

s can recrystallize to muscovite mica.

References

Geochemical processes Metamorphic petrology {{geochem-stub