In order to assess whether or not maJor elements in a group of Paleozoic argillites were mobilized and redistributed during the development of the contact metamorphic aureole associated with the Middle Jurassic emplacement of the Emigrant Gap composite pluton, 41 total samples were collected and analyzed for their major element chemistry. Ten of the 41 samples were collected from outside the contact metamorphic aureole, whereas 31 samples were collected from pelitic schists and phyllites within the aureole. The results of statistical tests, suggest that (1) the variances of data collected from outside and inside the aureole are similar, and (2) that the means of most major elements are not statistically different in going from outside to inside the aureole. These observations are highlighted by the /-factor analysis technique of Alex Woronow and Karen Love which shows that the difference in means for most major elements are not statistically different from zero. Thus, the results of this study support the idea that metamorphism associated with the emplacement of plutons high in the crust, is largely a static isochemical process.
