The Ordovician ocean circulation: a modern synthesis based on data and models

Abstract Surface currents constitute an efficient transport agent for (larvae of) marine faunas, while the circulation of water masses in the ocean interior drives nutrient redistribution, ventilates the ocean and contributes to shaping surface biological productivity and the benthic redox landscape. Therefore, a robust understanding of ocean circulation, both shallow and deep, and of its response to climate change, is required to interpret paleobiogeographic signals, biological productivity patterns and biodiversity trends. This is especially critical during periods of dynamic biological change, such as the Ordovician. Yet, oceanic circulation patterns leave no direct evidence in the geological record and can therefore be reconstructed solely based on indirect indicators, such as the distribution of faunas and geochemical proxies. General circulation models offer independent, physically robust insights onto the coupling between climate change and ocean circulation. Integrated approaches based on the assimilation of geological data in numerical models thus constitute a promising way forward. We here provide a literature review and updated synthesis of the current understanding of the Ordovician ocean circulation, based on data and models.