Reconstruction of currents in the Mid-Ordovician-Early Silurian central Baltic Basin using geochemical and mineralogical indicators

In the central part of the Mid-Ordovician–Early Silurian Baltic Basin, two different transport pathways of terrigenous material can be recognized. Kaolinite indicates the south-to-north sediment influx, and Cr the western and northern sources. A pathway from the Ukrainian Shield in the South was active in the Floian–Darriwilian (Ordovician) and in the Llandovery (Silurian). The influx from the western source was active in the Sandbyan, and influx from the northern side occurred in the Katyan. The sediment transport was carried out by water flows, which turned into rapid currents from time to time. These currents, coming from the ocean surface waters, were oxygenated facilitating red facies formation in the central Baltic Basin. Currents on the shelf were linked to the adjacent oceanic currents, which changed in course with the drift of Baltica from temperate to subtropical latitudes.