The course is one of the main pillars of the scientific field of Petrology. It covers a particularly wide range of knowledge since metamorphic rocks make up 99.5% of the silicate Earth (including the mantle). The course is concerned with the study of solid-state transformations that minerals and rocks undergo within the Earth as a function of temperature, pressure, composition, time, and deformation (P-T-X-t-d). From this study, fundamental insights are gained into the thermal evolution of the planet, the recycling of water and other volatiles with important consequences on climatic cycles, the origin of earthquakes in the crust and subduction zones, the genesis of (semi-)gemstones, the formation of ore deposits, the sequestration of carbon dioxide, the construction and origin of ancient artefacts, the formation of abiotic hydrocarbons and the origin of life.
DISTRIBUTION OF PRESSURE, TEMPERATURE AND DENSITY IN THE EARTH (Sources of heat in the crust and mantle, heat flow, continental and oceanic crustal geotherms, lithostatic pressure and tectonic overpressure, spatial distribution of pressure and temperature in crustal-scale shear zones, mineralogical stratification of the upper mantle, geotectonic environments and geothermal gradients, heat transfer during continental collision, and thermal evolution of thickened crust); TYPES OF METAMORPHISM, METAMORPHIC TEXTURES, METAMORPHIC TIME SCALES, METAMORPHISM AND GEOTECTONIC SETTINGS (Criteria for classification of metamorphic types, metamorphic grade, progressive and retrograde metamorphism, isograds, metamorphic facies, series and sequences, spatial distribution of metamorphic facies in active continental margins and oceanic subduction zones, description of metamorphic textures and fabrics, crystalloblastic series); PETROLOGY OF METAMORPHIC ROCKS DERIVED FROM DIFFERENT IGNEOUS AND SEDIMENTARY PROTOLITHS (mafic, ultramafic, argillaceous/pelitic, carbonate, quartzose, quartzofeldspathic); ULTRAHIGH-PRESSURE AND ULTRAHIGH-TEMPERATURE METAMORPHISM (Greek and Bulgarian Rhodope Metamorphic Province); METAMORPHIC CASE STUDIES (Scottish Highlands and Cyclades).