Three-dimensional stratigraphic analysis of cratonic-basin margins has demonstrated complex genetic interrelations between shelf, shelf-edge, and basinal facies. Application of seismic stratigraphic modeling has proved useful in analyzing the geometry of platform-margin deposits of the Pennsylvanian Hoxbar Group (Missourian) in the eastern Anadarko basin in Oklahoma.

Seismic modeling requires four principal steps: (1) tabulation of petrophysical parameters of the lithologies included in the model; (2) construction of a series of model stratigraphic sequences along a line of section; (3) generation of synthetic seismograms for each model sequence; and (4) comparison of the synthetic traces with corresponding field traces. Results of such a model study, combined with subsurface geologic data, suggest an interpretation of Hoxbar platform evolution incorporating two outbuilding or progradational depositional episodes separated by an upbuilding depositional episode.