Silurian Stratigraphy and Paleogeography of Baltica

The Silurian continent of Baltica was a small- to-medium-sized craton (ca. 7.8 million km2). Silurian outcrops cover only 1% of the area of this former continent, although the extent of subsurface Silurian strata is appreciable. Stratigraphic patterns influenced by tectonic and eustatic cycles are documented from 25 lithologic and bathymetric profiles drawn from four principal areas in the Central Scandinavian, East Baltic, Dniester, and Timan-Pechora Depressions. Baltica was bounded on its west flank by the developing Scandian orogen, which resulted from the closure of the Iapetus Ocean. On its southwest flank, Baltica underwent a collision with the microcontinent of Avalonia. The remaining continental margin was passive. Base maps for central Scandinavia, the combined East Baltic region and Dniester River area of Podolia, and the Timan-Pechora region of northwestern Russia allow reconstruction of the Silurian across approximately 35% of Baltica and its shelf margins. Paleogeographic maps are provided for Baltica through the Llandovery, Wenlock, and Ludlow Series, but exclude the youngest Pridoli' Series due to insufficient or unavailable data. Primary control of continental and marine sedimentation was exerted by tectonic factors, but the secondary imprint of eustasy is preserved in the stratigraphic record of Baltica's mid-shelf sectors