Dictionary:Contour

{{#category_index:C|contour}} (kon’ toor) A line separating points whose values are higher than the contour value from points lower, representing the locus of a constant value on a map or diagram. Allowance has to be made for uncertainties so that noise is not contoured, and a contour value of C_i can be thought of as marking the middle of a zone that contains values C_i±N, where N is the mean noise level. Often the smallest meaningful contour interval is about twice the noise level so that uncertainty ranges do not overlap. See Sheriff (1989; 13–21).