If you were a geologist...?

Question

Would you prefer to study contact metamorphosis or regional metamorphosis to gain clues on what happens beneath the Earth's surface? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

I'd want to study igenous petrology and mineralogy, and mineral geochemistry. In fact, I know someone who was working on mantle processes and geochem in igneous rocks was how he was doing it.

Answer 2

While both types occur under the surface, regional tends to bring up material at depth and eventually it gets exposed. However, the deepest portions of the crust are subjected to contact metamorphosis, so if you want to see "inside", then deep contact zones would be the place to go (if you could).