A note on compositional variation of olivine and pyroxene in thermally metamorphosed ultramafic complexes from SW Japan

This short article presents some diagrams showing the compositional variations of primary and metamorphic olivine, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene in peridotites and serpentinites from thermally metamorphosed ultramafic complexes in SW Japan. In contrast to olivine, which shows a gradual change of chemical composition corresponding with metamorphic grade, orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene show clear differences in composition between primary and metamorphic phases. Compared with primary pyroxenes, even though their compositions could be variable depending on original rock composition, metamorphic orthopyroxene and metamorphic clinopyroxene is clearly deficient in Cr(2)O(3) and CaO, and in Cr(2)O(3) and Al(2)O(3), respectively. These characteristics are useful for the discrimination between the pyroxenes of different origin.