The classical interpretation relating Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) to Poisson’s ratio and other petrophysical properties is based on the assumptions of elasticity and isotropy. We extend this interpretation to a layered medium with anisotropic and/or viscoelastic properties, using a Fourier Pseudo‐Spectral method to solve the wave equation. Both viscoelasticity and anisotropy are key factors for the quantitative interpretation of AVO trends, because they contribute to the seismic energy partition at geological interfaces (the reflection coefficients), and because they continually induce propagation effects. We show that: 1) Reflection coefficients at an interface are strongly dependent on the elastic anisotropy of both the overlying and the underlying media. The AVO effect is further complicated by materials with viscoelastic properties. 2) Propagation effects are due to elastic anisotropic energy focusing and viscoelastic dissipation that distort the energy and phase distribution of the incident and reflected wavefronts. These two phenomena can be of the same order of magnitude as variations in reflection amplitudes with offset and can make it difficult to recover reflection coefficients along an interface from seismic data. In theory, they make the amplitude determination of a seismic event somewhat dependent on wavelet phase changes that occur continually as the wavefront propagates. In practice, they create anisotropic radiation patterns and differentially focus the seismic energy distribution along the wavefront. For these reasons, all detailed reservoir characterizations based on modeling and interpretation work should attempt to account for anisotropy and viscoelastic attenuation; this is not an easy task in the real world because of the difficulty in prescribing appropriate physical parameters.

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