Contour line future weather patterns. Isobars are commonly used in television weather reporting. Isallobars are lines joining points of equal pressure change during a specific time interval. These can be divided into "anallobars", lines joining points of equal pressure increase during a specific time interval, and "katallobars", lines joining points of equal pressure decrease. In general, weather systems move along an axis joining high and low isallobaric centers. Isallobaric gradients are important components of the wind as they increase or decrease the geostrophic wind. An isopycnal is a line of constant density. An "isoheight" or "isohypse" is a line of constant geopotential
Contour line Isoclines are used to solve ordinary differential equations. In interpreting radar images, an isodop is a line of equal Doppler velocity, and an isoecho is a line of equal radar reflectivity. The idea of lines that join points of equal value was rediscovered several times. The oldest known isobath (contour line of constant depth) is found on a map dated 1584 of the river Spaarne, near Haarlem, by Dutchman Pieter Bruinsz. In 1701, Edmond Halley used such lines (isogons) on a chart of magnetic variation. The Dutch engineer Nicholas Cruquius drew the bed of the river Merwede with lines of