Mapping the distribution of productivity in ancient seas is a fundamental requirement for predicting the lateral variation in source rock quality, one of the main uncertainties for exploration in frontier basins, and is also required in the modeling of the carbon cycle in deep time. To construct a predictive tool designed to address this problem, a multifaceted approach based on paleogeographic mapping integrated with Earth-systems modeling has been devised and applied for a series of 18 time slices from the Early Paleozoic to Recent. Plate Wizard™ reconstructions were used as the basis for global paleogeographic mapping. Detailed paleotectonic and...