Small-scale Velocity Fluctuations Research Articles

Scattering of high-frequency P wavefield derived by dense Hi-net array observations in Japan and computer simulations of seismic wave propagations

SUMMARY We studied the scattering properties of high-frequency seismic waves due to the distribution of small-scale velocity fluctuations in the crust and upper mantle beneath Japan based on an analysis of three-component short-period seismograms and comparison with finite difference method (FDM) simulation of seismic wave propagation using various stochastic random velocity fluctuation models. Using a large number of dense High-Sensitivity Seismograph network waveform data of 310 shallow crustal earthquakes, we examined the P-wave energy partition of transverse component (PEPT), which is caused by scattering of the seismic wave in heterogeneous structure, as a function of frequency and hypocentral distances. At distance of less than D = 150km, the PEPT increases with increasing frequency and is approximately constant in the range of from D = 50 to 150 km. The PEPT was found to increase suddenly at a distance of over D = 150 km and was larger in the high-frequency band (f > 4 Hz). Therefore, strong scattering of P wave may occur around the propagation path (upper crust, lower crust andaroundMohodiscontinuity)oftheP-wavefirstarrivalphaseatdistancesoflargerthanD = 150km.WealsofoundaregionaldifferenceinthePEPT value,wherebythePEPT valueislarge at the backarc side of northeastern Japan compared with southwestern Japan and the forearc side of northeastern Japan. These PEPT results, which were derived from shallow earthquakes, indicate that the shallow structure of heterogeneity at the backarc side of northeastern Japan is stronger and more complex compared with other areas. These hypotheses, that is, the depth andregionalchangeofsmall-scalevelocityfluctuations,areexaminedby3-DFDMsimulation using various heterogeneous structure models. By comparing the observed feature of the PEPT with simulation results, we found that strong seismic wave scattering occurs in the lower crust due to relatively higher velocity and stronger heterogeneities compared with that in the upper crust. To explain the observed regional difference, the velocity fluctuation model with 3‐4 per cent stronger fluctuation and smaller κ is required at the backarc side of northeastern Japan.

Denoising of time-resolved PIV for accurate measurement of turbulence spectra and reduced error in derivatives

The accuracy of time-resolved PIV (TRPIV) turbulence measurements is limited by white noise, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of small-scale velocity fluctuations. This paper demonstrates a novel energy filter that extends the concept of spectral noise subtraction to the time domain. The filter is equivalent to the spectral subtraction of white noise energy, and therefore it can recover the true signal energy. Its effectiveness is evaluated by comparing two-component (2C) TRPIV and constant temperature anemometry (CTA) measurements performed in grid-generated turbulence (Re λ = 90). The denoised PIV measurements exhibit a SNR equivalent to those of a high-performance CTA system. The temporal spectra of velocity fluctuations and derivatives are accurately recovered, with an improvement in dynamic range by a factor of $$\fancyscript{O}(10^3)$$ . The error in dissipation estimates derived from the frequency spectrum is reduced to approximately 2 %. The correlation coefficient between spatial gradients computed directly and those computed via Taylor’s hypothesis improves from 0.83 to 0.95. The mean-square error reduction is found to be equivalent in the frequency and wavenumber domains, although we observe that frequency domain filtering has a limited ability to improve the SNR of spatial spectra at high wavenumbers. The performance of the energy filter is shown to be sensitive to the convergence of the measured spectra; therefore, we provide sampling criteria to ensure optimal implementation in measurements of turbulent flows.

Anisotropy in pair dispersion of inertial particles in turbulent channel flow

The rate at which two particles separate in turbulent flows is of central importance to predict the inhomogeneities of particle spatial distribution and to characterize mixing. Pair separation is analyzed for the specific case of small, inertial particles in turbulent channel flow to examine the role of mean shear and small-scale turbulent velocity fluctuations. To this aim an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach based on pseudo-spectral direct numerical simulation (DNS) of fully developed gas-solid flow at shear Reynolds number Reτ = 150 is used. Pair separation statistics have been computed for particles with different inertia (and for inertialess tracers) released from different regions of the channel. Results confirm that shear-induced effects predominate when the pair separation distance becomes comparable to the largest scale of the flow. Results also reveal the fundamental role played by particles-turbulence interaction at the small scales in triggering separation during the initial stages of pair dispersion. These findings are discussed examining Lagrangian observables, including the mean square separation, which provide prima facie evidence that pair dispersion in non-homogeneous anisotropic turbulence has a superdiffusive nature and may generate non-Gaussian number density distributions of both particles and tracers. These features appear to persist even when the effects of shear dispersion are filtered out, and exhibit strong dependency on particle inertia. Application of present results is discussed in the context of modelling approaches for particle dispersion in wall-bounded turbulent flows.

Evaluation of Turbulent Kinetic Energy Dissipation Rate in a Free Jet Flow from PIV Measurements

The present paper reports PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) measurements of turbulent velocity fluctuations statistics in development region of an axisymmetric free jet (Re = 28 000). To minimize measurement uncertainty, adaptive calibration, image processing and data post-processing algorithms were utilized. On the basis of theoretical analysis and direct measurements, the paper discusses effect of PIV spatial resolution on measured statistical characteristics of turbulent fluctuations. Underestimation of the second-order moments of velocity derivatives and of the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate due to a finite size of PIV interrogation area and finite thickness of laser sheet was analyzed from model spectra of turbulent velocity fluctuations. The results are in a good agreement with the measured experimental data. The paper also describes performance of possible ways to account for unresolved small-scale velocity fluctuations in PIV measurements of the dissipation rate. In particular, a turbulent viscosity model can be efficiently used to account for the unresolved pulsations in a free turbulent flow

Modeling the ascent of sounding balloons: derivation of the vertical air motion

Abstract. A new model to describe the ascent of sounding balloons in the troposphere and lower stratosphere (up to ∼30–35 km altitude) is presented. Contrary to previous models, detailed account is taken of both the variation of the drag coefficient with altitude and the heat imbalance between the balloon and the atmosphere. To compensate for the lack of data on the drag coefficient of sounding balloons, a reference curve for the relationship between drag coefficient and Reynolds number is derived from a dataset of flights launched during the Lindenberg Upper Air Methods Intercomparisons (LUAMI) campaign. The transfer of heat from the surrounding air into the balloon is accounted for by solving the radial heat diffusion equation inside the balloon. In its present state, the model does not account for solar radiation, i.e. it is only able to describe the ascent of balloons during the night. It could however be adapted to also represent daytime soundings, with solar radiation modeled as a diffusive process. The potential applications of the model include the forecast of the trajectory of sounding balloons, which can be used to increase the accuracy of the match technique, and the derivation of the air vertical velocity. The latter is obtained by subtracting the ascent rate of the balloon in still air calculated by the model from the actual ascent rate. This technique is shown to provide an approximation for the vertical air motion with an uncertainty error of 0.5 m s−1 in the troposphere and 0.2 m s−1 in the stratosphere. An example of extraction of the air vertical velocity is provided in this paper. We show that the air vertical velocities derived from the balloon soundings in this paper are in general agreement with small-scale atmospheric velocity fluctuations related to gravity waves, mechanical turbulence, or other small-scale air motions measured during the SUCCESS campaign (Subsonic Aircraft: Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study) in the orographically unperturbed mid-latitude middle troposphere.

Denoising methods for time-resolved PIV measurements

The increasing capabilities of currently available high-speed cameras present several new opportunities for particle image velocimetry (PIV). In particular, temporal postprocessing methods can be used to remove spurious vectors but can also be applied to remove inherent noise. This paper explores this second possibility by estimating the error introduced by several denoising methods on manufactured velocity fields. It is found that PIV noise, while autocorrelated in space, is uncorrelated in time, which leads to a significant improvement in the efficiency of temporal denoising methods compared to their spatial counterparts. Among them, the optimal Wiener filter presents better results than convolution- or wavelet-based filters and has the valuable advantage that no adjustments are required, unlike other methods which generally involve the tuning of some parameters that depend on flow and measurement conditions and are not known a priori. Further refinements show that denoised data can be successfully deconvolved to increase the accuracy of remaining small-scale velocity fluctuations, leading in particular to the recovery of the true shape of turbulent spectra. In practice, the computation of the filter function is not always accurate and different procedures can be used to improve the method depending on the flow considered. Some of them are derived from the properties of the time-frequency spectrum provided by the wavelet transform.

Three-dimensional conditional structure of a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer

An array of surface hot-film shear-stress sensors together with a traversing hot-wire probe is used to identify the conditional structure associated with a large-scale skin-friction event in a high-Reynolds-number turbulent boundary layer. It is found that the large-scale skin-friction events convect at a velocity that is much faster than the local mean in the near-wall region (the convection velocity for large-scale skin-friction fluctuations is found to be close to the local mean at the midpoint of the logarithmic region). Instantaneous shear-stress data indicate the presence of large-scale structures at the wall that are comparable in scale and arrangement to the superstructure events that have been previously observed to populate the logarithmic regions of turbulent boundary layers. Conditional averages of streamwise velocity computed based on a low skin-friction footprint at the wall offer a wider three-dimensional view of the average superstructure event. These events consist of highly elongated forward-leaning low-speed structures, flanked on either side by high-speed events of similar general form. An analysis of small-scale energy associated with these large-scale events reveals that the small-scale velocity fluctuations are attenuated near the wall and upstream of a low skin-friction event, while downstream and above the low skin-friction event, the fluctuations are significantly amplified. In general, it is observed that the attenuation and amplification of the small-scale energy seems to approximately align with large-scale regions of streamwise acceleration and deceleration, respectively. Further conditional averaging based on streamwise skin-friction gradients confirms this observation. A conditioning scheme to detect the presence of meandering large-scale structures is also proposed. The large-scale meandering events are shown to be a possible source of the strong streamwise velocity gradients, and as such play a significant role in modulating the small-scale motions.

TURBULENT SMALL-SCALE DYNAMO ACTION IN SOLAR SURFACE SIMULATIONS

We demonstrate that a magneto-convection simulation incorporating essential physical processes governing solar surface convection exhibits turbulent small-scale dynamo action. By presenting a derivation of the energy balance equation and transfer functions for compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), we quantify the source of magnetic energy on a scale-by-scale basis. We rule out the two alternative mechanisms for the generation of small-scale magnetic field in the simulations: the tangling of magnetic field lines associated with the turbulent cascade and Alfvenization of small-scale velocity fluctuations ("turbulent induction"). Instead, we find the dominant source of small-scale magnetic energy is stretching by inertial-range fluid motions of small-scale magnetic field lines against the magnetic tension force to produce (against Ohmic dissipation) more small-scale magnetic field. The scales involved become smaller with increasing Reynolds number, which identifies the dynamo as a small-scale turbulent dynamo.

Statistics of Small-Scale Velocity Fluctuations and Internal Intermittency in Marine Stratocumulus Clouds

AbstractClouds are known to be turbulent, but the details of their internal turbulent structure have been largely unexplored. Measurements of turbulent velocities in stratocumulus clouds presented here reveal an intermittent structure consistent with that observed in classic homogeneous isotropic turbulence. The measurements were taken close to cloud top in a 200-m-thick cloud layer over a path of approximately 6 km, using a hot-wire anemometer below a helicopter as part of the Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS) measurement system. Hot-wire signal artifacts resulting from droplet impacts are removed without significantly degrading the signal, such that high-order velocity structure functions can be evaluated. The structure function analysis for orders 2–8 show statistically significant departures from the Kolmogorov’s 1941 scaling, yielding scaling exponents consistent with the Kolmogorov–Obukhov refined similarity hypothesis, with an intermittency exponent of 0.25. This is in agreement with the accepted value determined in single-phase flows under carefully controlled conditions, and no evidence is found of any departure from the large body of knowledge obtained from the laboratory on the finescale turbulence structure. This suggests that processes depending on the finescale structure of turbulence that cannot presently be measured in clouds can be explored in the laboratory setting. Since these findings pertain to clouds with relatively low liquid water content and weak turbulence, further work will be required to determine their applicability to other cloud types.

On the influence of solar wind turbulent flows on decameter wavelength scintillations

Expressions for cross-correlation functions and spectra of weak interplanetary scintillations are deduced taking into account the solar wind flow structure. The paper discusses the influence of large-scale currents and small-scale velocity fluctuations distributed under the normal and lognormal laws.

Correlation between small-scale velocity and scalar fluctuations in a turbulent channel flow

Direct numerical simulations of a turbulent channel flow with passive scalar transport are used to examine the relationship between small-scale velocity and scalar fields. The Reynolds number based on the friction velocity and the channel half-width is equal to 180, 395 and 640, and the molecular Prandtl number is 0.71. The focus is on the interrelationship between the components of the vorticity vector and those of the scalar derivative vector. Near the wall, there is close similarity between different components of the two vectors due to the almost perfect correspondence between the momentum and thermal streaks. With increasing distance from the wall, the magnitudes of the correlations become smaller but remain non-negligible everywhere in the channel owing to the presence of internal shear and scalar layers in the inner region and the backs of the large-scale motions in the outer region. The topology of the scalar dissipation rate, which is important for small-scale scalar mixing, is shown to be associated with the organized structures. The most preferential orientation of the scalar dissipation rate is the direction of the mean strain rate near the wall and that of the fluctuating compressive strain rate in the outer region. The latter region has many characteristics in common with several turbulent flows; viz. the dominant structures are sheetlike in form and better correlated with the energy dissipation rate than the enstrophy.

Quantifying the influence of static-like errors in least-squares-based inversion and sequential simulation of cross-borehole ground penetrating radar data

Unknown borehole irregularities and small-scale velocity fluctuations near transmitter and receiver antennae positions may cause relatively strong travel time effects on cross-borehole ground penetrating radar (GPR) data. Previous studies have demonstrated that such effects may severely contaminate cross-borehole GPR tomographic images of radar wave velocity if they are not properly accounted for prior to, or during, inversion. In this paper we calculate the travel time effect of cavities in the borehole walls and small-scale velocity anomalies near the antennae positions using a full waveform modeling algorithm. We define covariance matrices for static-like errors which approximately capture the overall correlation properties of these effects. In synthetic tests, we investigate to which extent the resolution of least-squares-based tomographic inversion is affected by the calculated error types under different assumptions made about the statistical properties of the data errors. We find that the effects of the correlated data errors may be significantly suppressed if static-like errors are accounted for during inversion, even though the errors are not strictly static. Furthermore, we demonstrate that when static-like errors are accounted for, model resolution does not decline significantly, even when the expectation to the standard deviation of the data errors is increased above the level of the correlated errors. We implement this approach of accounting for correlated data errors in a sequential simulation algorithm, which we use to solve the inverse tomographic problem in order to obtain multiple realizations of the fine-scale GPR velocity distribution between the boreholes. Synthetic tests show that the assumptions made about the error correlation properties are significant for obtaining reliable images of the fine-scaled velocity distribution between the boreholes, even in cases where the correct prior knowledge about model correlation properties are available. We observe that the static-like data errors may introduce artifacts in the velocity distributions near the borehole walls if they are not properly accounted for during the conditioned simulation process. We apply the sequential simulation algorithm to a real data set from Arrenæs, Denmark and demonstrate that accounting for correlated data errors has a significant effect on the interpretation of the field data. In comparison to the standard approach in which errors are considered to be uncorrelated, higher resolution images with stronger contrasts between high- and low-velocity anomalies are produced when correlation of the data errors are accounted for.

Complexity in the high latitude HF radar spectral width boundary region

Abstract. SuperDARN radars are sensitive to the collective Doppler characteristics of decametre-scale irregularities in the high latitude ionosphere. The radars routinely observe a distinct transition from large spectral width (>100 m s−1) located at higher latitudes to low spectral width (<50 m s−1) located at lower latitudes. Because of its equatorward location, the TIGER Tasmanian radar is very sensitive to the detection of the spectral width boundary (SWB) in the nightside auroral ionosphere. An analysis of the line-of-sight velocities and 2-D beam-swinging vectors suggests the meso-scale (~100 km) convection is more erratic in the high spectral width region, but slower and more homogeneous in the low spectral width region. The radar autocorrelation functions are better modelled using Lorentzian Doppler spectra in the high spectral width region, and Gaussian Doppler spectra in the low spectral width region. However, paradoxically, Gaussian Doppler spectra are associated with the largest spectral widths. Application of the Burg maximum entropy method suggests the occurrence of double-peaked Doppler spectra is greater in the high spectral width region, implying the small-scale (~10 km) velocity fluctuations are more intense above the SWB. These observations combined with collective wave scattering theory imply there is a transition from a fast flowing, turbulent plasma with a correlation length of velocity fluctuations less than the scattering wavelength, to a slower moving plasma with a correlation length greater than the scattering wavelength. Peak scaling and structure function analysis of fluctuations in the SWB itself reveals approximately scale-free behaviour across temporal scales of ~10 s to ~34 min. Preliminary scaling exponents for these fluctuations, αGSF=0.18±0.02 and αGSF=0.09±0.01, are even smaller than that expected for MHD turbulence.

Modeling of plane Couette flow. I. Large scale flow around turbulent spots

Numerical simulations of a model of plane Couette flow focusing on its in-plane spatio-temporal properties are used to study the dynamics of turbulent spots. While the core of a spot is filled with small-scale velocity fluctuations, a large-scale flow extending far away and occupying the full gap between the driving plates is revealed upon filtering out small scales. It is characterized by streamwise inflow towards the spot and spanwise outflow from the spot, giving it a quadrupolar shape. A correction to the base flow is present within the spot in the form of a spanwise vortex with vorticity opposite in sign to that of the base flow. The Reynolds stresses are shown to be at the origin of this recirculation, whereas the quadrupolar shape of the in-plane flow results from the transport of this recirculation by the base flow that pumps it towards the spot in the streamwise direction and flushes it in the spanwise direction to insure mass conservation. These results shed light on earlier observations in plane Couette flow or other wall flows experiencing a direct transition to turbulence by spot nucleation.

Numerical study of the subgrid fluid turbulence effects on the statistics of heavy colliding particles

The main purpose of this article is to investigate the effects of the subgrid fluid turbulence on the motion of nonsettling colliding particles suspended in steady homogeneous isotropic turbulent flow. An additional goal is to characterize the statistical properties of the subgrid fluid turbulence “viewed” by inertial particles to support the development of large eddy simulation (LES) approach for particle-laden turbulent flows. Two types of numerical experiments have been carried out: first, the discrete particle trajectories were computed using the fluid velocity field given by direct numerical simulation (DNS) in order to characterize the small-scale fluid velocity fluctuations “seen” by the particles. In a second stage, the particle trajectory simulations were performed using several filtered velocity fields computed from the DNS data to evaluate the effect of the subgrid fluid turbulence on the particle statistics (turbulent dispersion, kinetic energy, accumulation efficiency, particle-particle relative velocity and collision frequency). The first part of this study shows that particle inertia has a limited effect on the subgrid fluid turbulent statistics: subgrid kinetic energy and Lagrangian integral time scale measured along the particle trajectories. In addition, the subgrid fluid Lagrangian integral time scale is found to be nearly equal to the subgrid Eulerian integral time scale and proportional to the ratio of the filter width to the whole fluid turbulent velocity. The second part shows that the particle turbulent dispersion and kinetic energy are affected by the filtering only when a significant percentage of the turbulent kinetic energy was removed from the velocity field seen by the particles. In contrast, accumulation and collision phenomena are found to be significantly influenced by the subgrid fluid velocity fluctuations when the particle response time is of the same order or smaller than the subgrid Lagrangian integral time scale measured along particle paths. Finally, these results are used to characterize, in terms of particle response time to subgrid time scale ratio, the validity range of LES for the computation of gas-solid turbulent flow.

Probability densities in strong turbulence

In this work we, using Mellin’s transform combined with the Gaussian large-scale boundary condition, calculate probability densities (PDFs) of velocity increments P ( δ r u , r ) , velocity derivatives P ( u ′ , r ) and the PDF of the fluctuating dissipation scales Q ( η , Re ) , where Re is the large-scale Reynolds number. The resulting expressions strongly deviate from the Log-normal PDF P L ( δ r u , r ) often quoted in the literature. It is shown that the probability density of the small-scale velocity fluctuations includes information about the large (integral) scale dynamics which is responsible for the deviation of P ( δ r u , r ) from P L ( δ r u , r ) . An expression for the function D ( h ) of the multifractal theory, free from spurious logarithms recently discussed in [U. Frisch, M. Martins Afonso, A. Mazzino, V. Yakhot, J. Fluid Mech. 542 (2005) 97] is also obtained.

Large-scale anisotropy effect on small-scale statistics over rough wall turbulent boundary layers

According to the local isotropy hypothesis presented by Kolmogorov, small-scale velocity fluctuations should be universal in any kind of turbulent flow when the Reynolds number is sufficiently large. This is one of the key assumptions in turbulence phenomena. At this stage, the question is not whether this assumption is correct or not, but rather how the local isotropy works as a good approximation depending on the nature of the large-scale anisotropy. In this paper, we report on how the large-scale anisotropy penetrates the small scales. Based on the experiments performed in the strong mean shear flow on the rough-wall boundary layer, we consider how the local isotropy is restored. The anisotropic parameter S* is defined as a ratio of the time scale caused by the mean velocity gradient and the Kolmogorov time scale. It is found that the local isotropy is achieved in the dissipation range even in S*≃0.1. On the other hand, there is no clear evidence of isotropy in the inertial range. Due to the strong mean shear, the second-order structure functions do not satisfy the exact power-law relation but they indicate the convex shape plotted in the logarithmic coordinate. Computing the local slope and the curvature of structure functions, we found they are a strong function of anisotropic parameter.

Lagrangian statistics and temporal intermittency in a shell model of turbulence.

We study the statistics of single-particle Lagrangian velocity in a shell model of turbulence. We show that the small-scale velocity fluctuations are intermittent, with scaling exponents connected to the Eulerian structure function scaling exponents. The observed reduced scaling range is interpreted as a manifestation of the intermediate dissipative range, as it disappears in a Gaussian model of turbulence.

Electrostatic turbulence and transport with stochastic magnetic field lines

Electrostatic turbulence, associated convective transport and poloidal plasma rotation at the edge of a tokamak plasma are strongly modified in a layer of stochastic magnetic field lines. Experimental observations during ergodic divertor operation show a decrease of density fluctuations but there is no evidence of a change of the turbulent cross field diffusivity. In this paper, the underlying mechanisms are studied using three-dimensional numerical simulations of flux driven resistive ballooning turbulence. Three key elements are found to determine the characteristics of transport due to fluctuations in the stochastic layer: first, long-lived stationary eddies appear due to modified equilibrium pressure and potential. Second, large scale pressure fluctuations decrease but small scale velocity fluctuations tend to increase. Third, the poloidal plasma rotation is suppressed and zonal flows are reduced by an anomalous friction due to stochasticity. In total, the level of convective flux associated with fluctuations is not quenched by the magnetic field perturbation. The impact of stochastic field lines on electrostatic turbulence is of interest for many experimental situations such as the stochastic boundary of stellarators and transport in the vicinity of the separatrix of standard tokamak divertors.

Seismic reflectivity of detachment faults of the Iberian and Tethyan distal continental margins based on geological and petrophysical data

Low-angle detachment faults are key to our understanding of the tectonic evolution of magma-poor rifted continental margins. In seismic images of present-day rifted margins the identification and interpretation of such features is, however, notoriously difficult and ambiguous. We address this problem by studying the structure and seismic response of such faults through a synoptic interpretation of petrophysical data and geological evidence from the distal segments of the present-day West Iberian and the ancient Tethyan margins. On the basis of the geologically well-constrained remnants of the Tethyan margins, which are spectacularly preserved and exposed in the Alps of Eastern Switzerland, vertical profiles at four key geological settings of a typical magma-poor rifted margin are constructed and their synthetic seismic responses are compared to the observed seismic data from corresponding locations in the present-day Iberian margin. The seismic structure of these profiles is considered as the sum of deterministic large-scale and the stochastic small-scale components. Both components are analyzed for all pertinent lithologies. The large-scale structures are derived from laboratory measurements on samples from both, the West Iberian and Tethyan margins, whereas the small-scale fluctuations are constrained predominantly on the basis of well-log data from the Iberian margin. Different realizations of the simulated stochastic small-scale velocity fluctuations illustrate the potential variability of impedance contrasts and its impact on the seismic response from lithological interfaces and fault structures. Our results indicate that the nature of the seismic response from low-angle detachment faults is largely determined through the fracture-healing behavior of the surrounding rocks. Geological evidence from the exposed fragments of the Tethyan margins indicate that fracture-healing is generally well developed in crustal lithologies, but largely absent in mantle lithologies. It is for this reason that low-angle, intra-crustal detachment faults tend to be seismically undetectable. Conversely, crust–mantle detachments have a complex and variable seismic response, depending on the nature of the damaged zone and on the frequency content of the seismic data. These model-based inferences are consistent with the available evidence from the present-day Iberian passive margin and thus open new perspectives for the interpretation of the corresponding seismic images.