Previous AVO classifications have assigned gas sands to various classes (one through three, four, or five - depending on the author). These classes cover only a subset of the possible combinations of reflectivity that can occur with offset. Generally, the tops of sands in these classes are characterized by negative reflection coefficients or by positive reflection coefficients, which become negative with increasing offset. In the new classification these sand classes are defined as conforming types, whereas sands with positive reflection coefficients on both near and far offsets or those, which have negative reflection coefficients becoming more positive with increasing offset, are described as non-conforming types.

By providing a complete classification of AVO types a solid framework is established for systematically investigating rock and fluid properties, of each of the resulting ten AVO types, with seismic data. An understanding of the characteristics of the two categories of sand types and the variations of AVO response for the different sands within the categories is critical in accurately assessing any geologically-interesting property.