LAUSR

The thickness normal to deposition (isopachs) and vertical thickness (isochores) of geological units is important for assessing various geologic processes. We present the first marine global sediment isochore estimates for five geological periods dating from middle Miocene (15.97 Ma) to present. We use sparsely distributed sediment depth vs. age observations from the Deep Sea Drilling Project and global maps of biological, oceanographic, geographic, and geological variables as training features in a k‐nearest neighbor regressor to estimate isochores. Results are compared to isochore estimates generated by applying a constant depositional rate from recent estimates of global total sediment thicknesses. Both models of isochore thickness exhibit consistent error. Results from a machine learning approach show major advantages, including results that are quantitative, easily updatable, and accompanied with uncertainty estimation. Final predictions can provide first‐order constraints on sediment deposition with geologic time, which is of timely importance for assessing past climate variability.