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Laboratory studies have been carried out to determine the causes of velocity and attenuation anisotropy in pelagic carbonate sediments from Deep Sea Drilling Project site 288 on the Ontong‐Java Plateau. Compressional velocity Vp was measured under independently controlled pore pressure and confining pressure. Velocity anisotropy for compressional waves (horizontal velocity > vertical velocity) is found to decrease with increasing effective pressure, i.e., with closure of pores. Previous studies have suggested that velocity anisotropy in pelagic carbonate sequences is due largely to preferred vertical orientation of calcite c axes. The present results indicate that preferred horizontal orientation of grain contacts and flat pores is also a significant cause of the observed anisotropy for many samples. Significant anisotropy in ultrasonic attenuation for compressional (Qp−1) and shear (Qs−1) waves is observed such that the losses are greatest for propagation modes that can generate relative motion across horizontal grain contacts or flat horizontal pores. The results are discussed in terms of the possible mechanisms of dissipation.

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