Zircon U-Pb SHRIMP ages from the Late Paleozoic Turpan-Hami Basin, NW China

Permian volcanic rocks are widely distributed in the Turpan-Hami Basin, which is part of the Central Asian orogenic belt. Here we present SHRIMP zircon data for the rhyolite in Well Baocan 1, one of the deepest wells in the basin. The 283.9±2.7 Ma reported in our study provides the best precise age determination for the Yierxitu Formation, the oldest Permian layer of Hami Depression, one of the three substructural units of the Turpan-Hami Basin, and a potential hydrocarbon reservoir in this basin. Our data refines earlier imprecise 39Ar-40Ar ages and shows that the volcanic rocks both inside the Turpan-Hami Basin and along its margin are almost coeval. We delineate a collisional orogenesis, and the new age of 283.9±2.7 Ma may limit the latest time of the collision orogenesis.