diff --git a/src/app/features/scene/README.md b/src/app/features/scene/README.md
index 49db00c5..957f1a42 100644
--- a/src/app/features/scene/README.md
+++ b/src/app/features/scene/README.md
@@ -10,14 +10,14 @@ means "keep the CSS ground". Everything below this section describes the opt-in
   function, a parameter row per layer; nothing repeats). World-x is baked in chunks (1.2 viewport widths, integer pixels)
   onto plain 2D canvases over a baked sky gradient on the host canvas. Per layer a track holds three chunk canvases: two
   the window can reach and one ahead. The first view bakes only the first chunk of each layer; the others are baked in
-  tasks of about 6 ms (`setTimeout`, columns per task sized from the last slice's time). Per frame the only motion is the
+  tasks of about 6 ms (`setTimeout`; a chunk is baked, put on a canvas with its in-scatter, and blurred in column bands, each sized from the last band's time). Per frame the only motion is the
   compositor sliding the track with a CSS transform (a Web Animation of `translate3d`, one chunk long, `fill: forwards`,
   150-420 s per viewport width, farther is slower); when it finishes the chunks move one slot left and the track restarts
   at 0 in the same task (no jump), and the canvas that left is baked with the next stretch of world. A second animation
   sways the whole rig (up to 5% of the width sideways, 3% of the height down, 150 s loop): the slow yaw and pitch.
   No script runs per frame. The host canvas and the layers' parent must be positioned and the canvas should fill the parent.
 - `ridge/ridgeBake.ts` is the pixel function (pure, no DOM): per column the crest's slope gives a normal, lit against the
-  sun (`sunDirection` from `sunAzimuth`: +x for azimuth 0.25-0.5); the face under it has a light-to-haze gradient, erosion
+  sun (`sunDirection`: x = 0.9 sin(2 pi \* `sunAzimuth`), so the sun is toward +x for azimuth 0 to 0.5, strongest at 0.25, toward -x for 0.5 to 1; with no `sunAzimuth` the face lighting falls back to 0.3 and the in-scatter is off); the face under it has a light-to-haze gradient, erosion
   streaks (a folded noise at gully width, darker with steepness) and a lit rim on the crest. Contrast scales with
   `transmittance`; the base colour, haze and blur are the aerial perspective below, not redone.
 - Paused when the tab is hidden; under `prefers-reduced-motion` the layers are painted but never played.
diff --git a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.test.ts b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.test.ts
index 6e30a6be..864491f1 100644
--- a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { createRidgeScene } from './Ridge';
+import { bakeSlice, BakeParams, layerPaint } from './ridgeBake';
 import { valueNoise, hash2 } from './noise';
 import { FrameSampler, frameStats, SLOW_P95_MS, WARMUP_FRAMES, WINDOW_MS } from './probe';
 import {
@@ -217,8 +218,21 @@ function fakeEl(tag = 'div') {
       this.children.push(c);
       return c;
     },
-    animate: vi.fn(() => {
-      const a = { currentTime: 0, play: vi.fn(), pause: vi.fn(), cancel: vi.fn() };
+    animate: vi.fn((keyframes: any[], options: any) => {
+      const a: any = {
+        currentTime: 0,
+        keyframes,
+        options,
+        onfinish: null,
+        play: vi.fn(),
+        pause: vi.fn(),
+        cancel: vi.fn(),
+        /** The animation reaches its end: what the compositor's finish event does. */
+        finish() {
+          a.currentTime = options.duration;
+          a.onfinish?.();
+        },
+      };
       el.anims.push(a);
       return a;
     }),
@@ -236,6 +250,10 @@ const DAY: SkyColours = {
   sunAzimuth: 0.3,
 };
 const draws: string[] = [];
+/** Every ImageData put on any canvas, in order. */
+const puts: any[] = [];
+/** For every drawImage: the source canvas's width as it was at the moment of the draw. */
+const drawnWidths: number[] = [];
 function ctx(withFilter = false) {
   const c: any = {
     globalCompositeOperation: 'source-over',
@@ -243,12 +261,16 @@ function ctx(withFilter = false) {
     fillRect() {
       draws.push(c.globalCompositeOperation === 'source-atop' ? 'scatter' : 'sky');
     },
+    save() {},
+    restore() {},
+    rect() {},
+    clip() {},
     createImageData: (w: number, h: number) => ({
       data: new Uint8ClampedArray(w * h * 4),
       width: w,
       height: h,
     }),
-    putImageData() {},
+    putImageData: (img: any) => puts.push(img),
     beginPath() {},
     moveTo() {},
     lineTo() {},
@@ -266,7 +288,10 @@ function ctx(withFilter = false) {
       if (c.arcing) c.arcing = false;
       else draws.push('fill');
     },
-    drawImage: () => draws.push('flatten'),
+    drawImage: (src: any) => {
+      drawnWidths.push(src.width);
+      draws.push('flatten');
+    },
     set fillStyle(_v: unknown) {},
   };
   if (withFilter) c.filter = 'none';
@@ -281,6 +306,8 @@ let search: string;
 beforeEach(() => {
   rafQueue = [];
   draws.length = 0;
+  puts.length = 0;
+  drawnWidths.length = 0;
   search = '';
   motion = { matches: false, addEventListener: vi.fn(), removeEventListener: vi.fn() };
   doc = Object.assign(new EventTarget(), {
@@ -675,3 +702,113 @@ describe('the starfield in the scene', () => {
     expect(rafQueue).toHaveLength(0);
   });
 });
+
+describe('endless drift: chunks baked on demand and recycled', () => {
+  const size = layerSize(400, 800, 2); // the fake host: 400 x 800 CSS px at DPR 2
+  const until = async (cond: () => boolean) => {
+    const t0 = Date.now();
+    while (!cond()) {
+      if (Date.now() - t0 > 10000) throw new Error('timed out waiting for the background bakes');
+      await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, 5));
+    }
+  };
+  /** The pixels chunk `m` of layer `li` must hold: the pure bake of its world columns, no blur. */
+  const expected = (li: number, m: number) => {
+    const p: BakeParams = {
+      spec: LAYERS[li],
+      sky: DAY,
+      period: size.period,
+      scale: 2,
+      viewH: 1600,
+      rows: size.height,
+      bandH: size.height,
+      px0: m * size.chunk,
+      cols: size.chunk,
+    };
+    const out = new Uint8ClampedArray(p.cols * p.rows * 4);
+    bakeSlice(out, p, layerPaint(p.spec, DAY), 0, p.cols);
+    return Buffer.from(out.buffer);
+  };
+  /** Each distinct ImageData put, in order of first appearance: one per baked chunk. */
+  const baked = () => [...new Set(puts)].map((img) => Buffer.from(img.data.buffer));
+  const start = () => {
+    const { parent, canvas } = host();
+    const records: any[] = [];
+    const s = createRidgeScene({ canvas, tier: 'full', sky: DAY, onBake: (b) => records.push(b) })!;
+    return { parent, s, records };
+  };
+
+  it('bakes every chunk from its own world columns: no offset, the next chunk continues the last', async () => {
+    const { s, records } = start();
+    await until(() => records.length === 3 * LAYERS.length);
+    // First view: chunk 0 of each layer; then, per layer in queue order, chunks 1 and 2.
+    const order = [
+      ...LAYERS.map((l) => [l.index, 0]),
+      ...LAYERS.flatMap((l) => [
+        [l.index, 1],
+        [l.index, 2],
+      ]),
+    ];
+    expect(records.map((r) => [r.layer, r.chunk])).toEqual(order);
+    const imgs = baked();
+    expect(imgs).toHaveLength(order.length);
+    order.forEach(([li, m], i) => expect(imgs[i].equals(expected(li, m))).toBe(true));
+    s.dispose();
+  });
+
+  it('when the drift animation ends, the chunks move one slot left and the track restarts', async () => {
+    const { parent, s, records } = start();
+    await until(() => records.length === 3 * LAYERS.length);
+    const track = tracksOf(parent)[0];
+    const [e0, e1, e2] = track.children;
+    const first = track.anims[0];
+    // One chunk of drift, not one viewport: the track slides by the width of a chunk.
+    expect(first.keyframes[1].transform).toContain(`${-size.chunk / 2}px`);
+    expect(track.animate).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    first.finish();
+    expect(first.cancel).toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(track.animate).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    const w = size.chunk / 2;
+    expect([e1.style.left, e2.style.left, e0.style.left]).toEqual(['0px', `${w}px`, `${2 * w}px`]);
+    expect(track.anims[1].keyframes[1].transform).toContain(`${-w}px`);
+    s.dispose();
+  });
+
+  it('the canvas that left is baked with the next stretch of world, and each rotation after it, without end', async () => {
+    const { parent, s, records } = start();
+    await until(() => records.length === 3 * LAYERS.length);
+    const track = tracksOf(parent)[0];
+    const done = () => records.filter((r) => r.layer === 0).map((r) => r.chunk);
+    for (let m = 3; m <= 5; m += 1) {
+      track.anims[track.anims.length - 1].finish();
+      await until(() => done().includes(m));
+    }
+    expect(done()).toEqual([0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]);
+    // The pixels of chunks 3 to 5 are the world's, not a repeat of an earlier one.
+    const imgs = baked();
+    const layer0 = imgs.filter((_, i) => records[i].layer === 0);
+    [3, 4, 5].forEach((m, k) => expect(layer0[3 + k].equals(expected(0, m))).toBe(true));
+    expect(layer0[3].equals(layer0[0])).toBe(false);
+    s.dispose();
+  });
+
+  it('with the blur, each chunk is blurred from a scratch canvas of its own width: seams stay opaque and exact', async () => {
+    const orig = (document as any).createElement;
+    (document as any).createElement = (tag: string) => {
+      const el = orig(tag);
+      el.getContext = vi.fn(() => ctx(true));
+      return el;
+    };
+    const { s, records } = start();
+    await until(() => records.length === 3 * LAYERS.length);
+    const want = new Set(
+      LAYERS.filter((l) => edgeBlur(l) > 0).map(
+        (l) => size.chunk + 2 * Math.ceil(3 * edgeBlur(l) * 2)
+      )
+    );
+    expect(want.size).toBeGreaterThan(1); // the layers' pads differ, which is what a shared canvas gets wrong
+    // Every blur reads a source exactly as wide as that chunk's padded bake, at the moment of the draw.
+    expect(new Set(drawnWidths)).toEqual(want);
+    s.dispose();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.ts b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.ts
index cddf569e..72985d4c 100644
--- a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.ts
+++ b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/Ridge.ts
@@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ function scatter(
   widthPx: number,
   heightPx: number,
   t0: number,
-  tPerPx: number
+  tPerPx: number,
+  bandX = 0,
+  bandW = widthPx
 ) {
   if (sky.sunAzimuth === undefined || transmittance(spec) >= 1) return; // the nearest layer takes none
   const g = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 0, widthPx, 0);
@@ -72,7 +74,7 @@ function scatter(
   }
   ctx.globalCompositeOperation = 'source-atop';
   ctx.fillStyle = g;
-  ctx.fillRect(0, 0, widthPx, heightPx);
+  ctx.fillRect(bandX, 0, bandW, heightPx);
   ctx.globalCompositeOperation = 'source-over';
 }
 
@@ -82,14 +84,16 @@ interface Job {
 }
 
 /**
- * One layer's stretch of world-x `[m * chunk, (m + 1) * chunk)` painted onto `el`. The pixels come from
- * `bakeSlice`, a slice of columns per call, sized to the task budget by measuring the last one. A blur
- * (where the 2D `filter` exists) needs neighbours, so the pixels are baked `pad` columns past both
- * ends and bottom, then blurred once into the chunk canvas: seams show no fade.
+ * One layer's stretch of world-x `[m * chunk, (m + 1) * chunk)` painted onto `el`, in three phases of
+ * column bands, each band sized to the task budget by measuring the last one: bake the pixels
+ * (`bakeSlice`), put them on a canvas with the in-scatter, and (where the 2D `filter` exists) blur them
+ * into `el`. The blur needs neighbours, so the pixels are baked `pad` columns past both ends and
+ * the bottom into a scratch canvas this job owns, and each blurred band reads `pad` columns either side of
+ * itself: seams show no fade. The scratch is made when the job first runs and dropped when it ends.
  */
 function chunkJob(
   el: HTMLCanvasElement,
-  scratch: HTMLCanvasElement,
+  makeCanvas: () => HTMLCanvasElement,
   spec: LayerSpec,
   sky: SkyColours,
   size: Size,
@@ -104,16 +108,6 @@ function chunkJob(
   const pad = blur > 0 && 'filter' in ctx ? Math.ceil(3 * blur) : 0;
   const cols = size.chunk + 2 * pad;
   const rows = size.height + pad;
-  const sctx = pad > 0 ? context2d(scratch) : ctx;
-  if (!sctx) return null;
-  if (pad > 0) {
-    scratch.width = cols;
-    scratch.height = rows;
-  } else {
-    el.width = size.chunk;
-    el.height = size.height;
-  }
-  const img = sctx.createImageData(cols, rows);
   const params: BakeParams = {
     spec,
     sky,
@@ -126,62 +120,89 @@ function chunkJob(
     cols,
   };
   const paint = layerPaint(spec, sky);
-  let next = 0;
-  let stage = 0;
+  const t0World = params.px0 / size.period;
+  let scratch: HTMLCanvasElement | undefined;
+  let sctx: CanvasRenderingContext2D | null = ctx;
+  let img: ImageData | undefined;
+  /** 0 bake, 1 put and in-scatter, 2 blur into el; a chunk with no blur ends after 1. */
+  let phase = 0;
+  let pos = 0;
   let sliceCols = 32;
   let total = 0;
   let longest = 0;
+  const last = pad > 0 ? 2 : 1;
+  const start = (): boolean => {
+    if (pad > 0) {
+      scratch = makeCanvas();
+      scratch.width = cols;
+      scratch.height = rows;
+      sctx = context2d(scratch);
+    } else {
+      el.width = size.chunk;
+      el.height = size.height;
+    }
+    if (!sctx) return false;
+    img = sctx.createImageData(cols, rows);
+    return true;
+  };
+  const work = (x: number, n: number) => {
+    if (!img || !sctx) return;
+    if (phase === 0) bakeSlice(img.data, params, paint, x, x + n);
+    else if (phase === 1) {
+      sctx.putImageData(img, 0, 0, x, 0, n, rows);
+      scatter(sctx, spec, sky, cols, rows, t0World, 1 / size.period, x, n);
+    } else {
+      // One draw: a blurred draw cut into bands costs more in the margins than it saves in task length.
+      ctx.drawImage(scratch as HTMLCanvasElement, -pad, 0);
+    }
+  };
   return {
     step(budgetMs) {
       const t0 = clock();
-      let done = false;
-      const baking = next < cols;
-      const putNow = stage === 0;
-      while (next < cols && clock() - t0 < budgetMs) {
-        const n = Math.min(cols - next, sliceCols);
-        const s0 = clock();
-        bakeSlice(img.data, params, paint, next, next + n);
-        next += n;
-        const dt = Math.max(clock() - s0, 0.02);
-        if (Number.isFinite(budgetMs))
-          sliceCols = Math.max(8, Math.min(512, Math.round((n * budgetMs * 0.4) / dt)));
-        else sliceCols = cols;
-      }
-      // Finishing is its own tasks, so no one task is longer than a slice: put and in-scatter, then the blur.
-      // A caller with no budget (the first view) runs it all in this one.
-      if (next >= cols && (!Number.isFinite(budgetMs) || !baking)) {
-        if (stage === 0) {
-          if (pad > 0) {
-            sctx.putImageData(img, 0, 0);
-            scatter(sctx, spec, sky, cols, rows, params.px0 / size.period, 1 / size.period);
-          } else {
-            ctx.putImageData(img, 0, 0);
-            scatter(
-              ctx,
-              spec,
-              sky,
-              size.chunk,
-              size.height,
-              params.px0 / size.period,
-              1 / size.period
-            );
-          }
-          stage = 1;
-          done = pad === 0;
+      // Allocating the canvases and the pixel buffer is a task of its own.
+      if (!img) {
+        if (!start()) return true;
+        if (Number.isFinite(budgetMs)) {
+          total += clock() - t0;
+          longest = Math.max(longest, clock() - t0);
+          return false;
         }
-        if (stage === 1 && !done && (!Number.isFinite(budgetMs) || !putNow)) {
+      }
+      while (phase <= last && clock() - t0 < budgetMs) {
+        const end = phase === 2 ? size.chunk : cols;
+        if (pos === 0 && phase === 2) {
           el.width = size.chunk;
           el.height = size.height;
           ctx.filter = `blur(${blur}px)`;
-          ctx.drawImage(scratch, -pad, 0);
-          ctx.filter = 'none';
-          done = true;
+        }
+        const n = phase === 2 ? end : Math.min(end - pos, sliceCols);
+        const s0 = clock();
+        work(pos, n);
+        pos += n;
+        const dt = Math.max(clock() - s0, 0.02);
+        sliceCols = Number.isFinite(budgetMs)
+          ? Math.max(8, Math.min(512, Math.round((n * budgetMs * 0.4) / dt)))
+          : cols;
+        if (pos >= end) {
+          if (phase === 2) ctx.filter = 'none';
+          phase += 1;
+          pos = 0;
+          if (phase === 1 || phase === 2) sliceCols = Number.isFinite(budgetMs) ? 64 : cols;
         }
       }
       const dt = clock() - t0;
       total += dt;
       longest = Math.max(longest, dt);
-      if (done) record(total, longest);
+      const done = phase > last;
+      if (done) {
+        img = undefined;
+        if (scratch) {
+          scratch.width = 0;
+          scratch.height = 0;
+        }
+        scratch = undefined;
+        record(total, longest);
+      }
       return done;
     },
   };
@@ -212,6 +233,8 @@ interface Built {
   /** CSS px to canvas px, and the viewport's height in canvas px, as baked. */
   scale: number;
   viewH: number;
+  /** Makes a canvas, bound to the document the scene was built in. */
+  makeCanvas: () => HTMLCanvasElement;
   /** The twinkling stars' own canvas, between the sky and the ridges; absent in a day sky and in 'still'. */
   twinkle?: HTMLCanvasElement;
 }
@@ -247,7 +270,6 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
   let jobTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
   let queue: Chunk[] = [];
   let generation = 0;
-  let scratch: HTMLCanvasElement | undefined;
   let disposed = false;
   let raf = 0;
   let readout: HTMLElement | undefined;
@@ -265,7 +287,6 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
     clearTimeout(jobTimer);
     jobTimer = undefined;
     queue = [];
-    scratch = undefined;
     built?.sway?.cancel();
     built?.layers.forEach((l) => l.anim?.cancel());
     built?.rig.remove();
@@ -288,10 +309,10 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
    */
   const bake = (l: LayerState, c: Chunk, first: boolean): boolean => {
     if (!built) return false;
-    const { scale, viewH } = built;
+    const { scale, viewH, makeCanvas } = built;
     const job = chunkJob(
       c.el,
-      scratch as HTMLCanvasElement,
+      makeCanvas,
       l.spec,
       sky,
       built.size,
@@ -333,7 +354,7 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
   const chunkSeconds = (spec: LayerSpec, size: Size) => (spec.seconds * size.chunk) / size.period;
 
   /** One chunk of drift as one animation, holding its end until `rotate` hands the track the next chunk. */
-  const startDrift = (l: LayerState) => {
+  const startDrift = (l: LayerState, onEnd: (l: LayerState) => void) => {
     if (!built) return;
     const { size, scale } = built;
     l.anim = l.track.animate?.(
@@ -343,7 +364,7 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
       ],
       { duration: chunkSeconds(l.spec, size) * 1000, easing: 'linear', fill: 'forwards' }
     );
-    if (l.anim) l.anim.onfinish = () => rotate(l);
+    if (l.anim) l.anim.onfinish = () => onEnd(l);
   };
 
   /**
@@ -363,7 +384,7 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
       c.el.style.left = `${(i * size.chunk) / scale}px`;
     });
     l.anim?.cancel();
-    startDrift(l);
+    startDrift(l, rotate);
     bake(l, s0, false);
     pump();
     syncPlayState();
@@ -429,7 +450,6 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
       pointerEvents: 'none',
       willChange: 'transform',
     });
-    scratch = document.createElement('canvas');
     const layers: LayerState[] = LAYERS.map((spec) => {
       const track = document.createElement('div');
       Object.assign(track.style, {
@@ -442,6 +462,8 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
       });
       const slots: Chunk[] = [0, 1, 2].map((i) => {
         const el = document.createElement('canvas');
+        el.width = size.chunk;
+        el.height = size.height;
         Object.assign(el.style, {
           position: 'absolute',
           bottom: '0',
@@ -452,7 +474,16 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
       });
       return { spec, track, slots };
     });
-    built = { rig, layers, size, scale, viewH: canvas.height, twinkle };
+    const doc = document;
+    built = {
+      rig,
+      layers,
+      size,
+      scale,
+      viewH: canvas.height,
+      makeCanvas: () => doc.createElement('canvas'),
+      twinkle,
+    };
     // First view: only slot 0 of each layer, in this task. The window sees nothing else for the first
     // fifth of a chunk's drift; slots 1 and 2 are baked in short tasks behind it.
     if (!layers.every((l) => bake(l, l.slots[0], true))) {
@@ -471,7 +502,7 @@ export function createRidgeScene(opts: RidgeOptions): Scene | null {
     });
     // DOM order is paint order: farthest first, so the nearest ridge ends up on top.
     parent.appendChild(rig);
-    layers.forEach((l) => startDrift(l));
+    layers.forEach((l) => startDrift(l, rotate));
     built.sway = startSway(rig, w, h);
     pump();
     syncPlayState();
diff --git a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/ridgeBake.test.ts b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/ridgeBake.test.ts
index 355272ef..7c452954 100644
--- a/src/app/features/scene/ridge/ridgeBake.test.ts
+++ b/src/app/features/scene/ridge/ridgeBake.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
 import { BakeParams, bakeSlice, faceLight, layerPaint, sunDirection } from './ridgeBake';
-import { LAYERS, profile } from './ridgeWorld';
+import { LACUNARITY, LAYERS, profile } from './ridgeWorld';
 import { skyColours, SkyColours } from './skyColour';
 
 const SKY: SkyColours = { ...skyColours(), sunAzimuth: 0.3 }; // sun toward +x
@@ -219,3 +219,85 @@ describe('bake cost', () => {
     );
   });
 });
+
+describe('the ridged multifractal core, each rule on its own', () => {
+  const one = { ...LAYERS[0], octaves: 1, warp: 0, crag: 1 };
+
+  it('folds each octave at its crest: a creased, sharp ridge line, not a smooth swell', () => {
+    // Largest second difference over a fine scan. A smooth curve of this size stays in the hundreds;
+    // a fold leaves a crease where the noise crosses its midpoint.
+    const h = 1e-3;
+    let worst = 0;
+    for (let i = 1; i < 20000; i += 1) {
+      const t = i * h;
+      worst = Math.max(
+        worst,
+        Math.abs(profile(one, t + h) - 2 * profile(one, t) + profile(one, t - h)) / (h * h)
+      );
+    }
+    expect(worst).toBeGreaterThan(2000);
+  });
+
+  it('domain-warps: the same layer without its warp is a measurably different line', () => {
+    const spec = LAYERS[1];
+    let diff = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < 2000; i += 1)
+      diff += Math.abs(profile(spec, i / 100) - profile({ ...spec, warp: 0 }, i / 100));
+    expect(diff / 2000).toBeGreaterThan(0.02);
+  });
+
+  it('weights each octave by the previous one: where the first octave is low, the later ones add almost nothing', () => {
+    const lo = { ...LAYERS[1], octaves: 1, warp: 0 };
+    const hi = { ...LAYERS[1], octaves: 5, warp: 0 };
+    let valley = 0;
+    let nv = 0;
+    let peak = 0;
+    let np = 0;
+    for (let i = 0; i < 10000; i += 1) {
+      const a = profile(lo, i / 500);
+      const d = Math.abs(profile(hi, i / 500) - a);
+      if (a < 0.12) {
+        valley += d;
+        nv += 1;
+      } else if (a > 0.35) {
+        peak += d;
+        np += 1;
+      }
+    }
+    expect(nv).toBeGreaterThan(200);
+    expect(np).toBeGreaterThan(200);
+    expect(valley / nv).toBeLessThan(0.25 * (peak / np));
+  });
+
+  it('octave lattices do not line up: the lacunarity is not a power of two', () => {
+    expect(Number.isInteger(Math.log2(LACUNARITY))).toBe(false);
+    expect(Number.isInteger(LACUNARITY)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('distance flattens relief: contrast falls from the nearest layer to the farthest', () => {
+    const c = LAYERS.map((spec) => layerPaint(spec, SKY).contrast);
+    expect(c[LAYERS.length - 1]).toBe(1);
+    for (let i = 1; i < c.length; i += 1) expect(c[i]).toBeGreaterThan(c[i - 1]);
+    // and it shows in the pixels: the lit/shadow difference is smaller on the farthest layer than the nearest
+    const gap = (li: number) => {
+      const cols = 700;
+      const d = bake(params(li, 0, cols));
+      const slope = (x: number) => (solidRow(d, cols, x - 1) - solidRow(d, cols, x + 1)) / 2;
+      const avg = (pick: (s: number) => boolean) => {
+        const xs = Array.from({ length: cols - 4 }, (_, k) => k + 2).filter((x) => pick(slope(x)));
+        return (
+          xs.reduce((a, x) => a + lum(d, cols, x, solidRow(d, cols, x) + 12), 0) /
+          Math.max(1, xs.length)
+        );
+      };
+      return (
+        Math.abs(avg((s) => s < -0.8) - avg((s) => s > 0.8)) /
+        Math.max(
+          1,
+          avg(() => true)
+        )
+      );
+    };
+    expect(gap(0)).toBeLessThan(gap(3));
+  });
+});