Poisson's ratio in transversely isotropic media and its effects on amplitude response: An investigation through physical modeling experiments

Amplitude interpretation is a seismic technique that has proven to be an effective tool in oil reservoir delineation, particularly in development areas. Amplitude variation with offset is a commonly used method in amplitude interpretation. It can distinguish a hydrocarbon bearing sand reservoir from a water bearing reservoir. The well-known simplification by Shuey (1985) of Zoeppritz’s equation is widely used in interpretation. It assumes that the media involved are isotropic. Blangy (1994) provided an expression for reflection coefficients in the presence of anisotropy. This is expressed in terms of the phase angle which does not correspond to the conventional angle of incidence obtained directly from ray path geometry. Poisson’s ratio also becomes directionally dependent in anisotropic media.