Reply to Zhang et al.’s comment on ‘‘Geochronology and geochemistry of deep-drill-core samples from the basement of the central Tarim basin’’

We welcome Zhang et al.’s comment on our recent paper dealing with the significance of the first geochemical and geochronological analyses of deep drill-core samples collected from the basement of the central Tarim basin (Guo et al., 2005). In their comments, Zhang et al. raised three questions with regard to our paper (1) the compatibility of our model with regional geology, (2) our interpretation that the central Tarim granitoid was derived from a magmatic arc, and (3) if the timing of our inferred arc magmatism and suturing event across the central Tarim basin is consistent with recently radiometric ages of mafic dikes and Neoproterozoic rift sequences sequences around the Tarim basin. We address them below.