Grey and white carbonate mylonites were collected along thrust planes of the Helvetic Alps. They are characterised by very small grain sizes and non-random grain shape (SPO) and crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO). Presumably they deformed in the field of grain size sensitive flow by recrystallisation accommodated intracrystalline deformation in combination with granular flow. Both mylonites show a similar mean grain size, but in the grey mylonites the grain size range is larger, the grain shapes are more elongate and the dynamically recrystallised calcite grains are more often twinned. Grey mylonites have an oblique CPO, while the CPO in white mylonites is symmetric with respect to the shear plane. Combustion analysis and ТЕМ investigations revealed that grey mylonites contain a higher amount of highly structured kerogens with particle sizes of a few tens of nanometers, which are finely dispersed at the grain boundaries.

During deformation of the rock, nano-scale particles reduced the migration velocity of grain boundaries by Zener drag resulting in slower recrystallisation rates of the calcite aggregate. In the grey mylonites, more strain increments were accommodated by individual grains before they became refreshed by dynamic recrystallisation than in white mylonites, where grain boundary migration was less hindered and recrystallisation cycles were faster. Consequently, grey mylonites represent 'deformation' microfabrics while white mylonites are characterised by 'recrystallisation' microfabrics. Field geologists must utilise this different deformation behavior when applying the obliquity in CPO and SPO of the respective mylonites as reliable shear sense indicators

The deformation mechanisms and controls that operate in the mylonite/ultramylonite transition are interpreted from microstructural observation. The investigated mylonites and ultramylonites were derived from a granitic protolith which was deformed under greenschist facies conditions, and in the presence of fluid, in a regional-scale shear zone from northwest Argentina. Several deformation mechanisms were recognized to operate simultaneously in different domains of the microstructure at each particular stage of the microstructural evolution. This continuously mobile deformation partitioning, present throughout the microstructural evolution, ceases abruptly in the ultramylonite stage, where a stable-state microstructure is achieved. Domainal quartz c-axis fabrics indicate that quartz deforms by crystal-plastic processes at the initial and intermediate stages of deformation, but solution-transfer processes become predominant in the ultramylonite stage. Plagio-clase is progressively transformed into muscovite through retrograde softening reactions. K-feldspar is progressively transformed into fine-grade aggregates via cataclastic flow and incipient recrystallization. Mica deforms by kinking and basal slip, with progressive development of fine-grained, morphologically oriented aggregates. Plagioclase disappearance as well as the development of intrafolial microfolds characterize the transition between the mylonitic and ultramylonitic domains. Disruption of these microfolds is interpreted to represent the ultimate control on the localization of the ultramylonite bands, с 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved