40 Ar- 39 Ar dating of basalts from Tarim Basin, NW China and its implication to a Permian thermal tectonic event *

This paper reports 40Ar-39Ar ages of northwestern China’s Tarim Basin Permian basalts. 40Ar-39Ar age dating for basaltic samples from the Yingan section, Keping area and Damusi section of the southwestern part of Tarim Basin yields plateau ages of (281.8±4.2) Ma and a weighted mean value of (290.1±3.5) Ma respectively. This study combined with previous data indicates that the basaltic rocks from the studied area formed during 282∼290 Ma. 40Ar-39Ar age dating from the basalts addresses a tectonothermal event in the Tarim Basin that occurred during the Early Permian of 278∼290 Ma.