What term refers to a continuous change in value often visualized to show patterns?

The term that refers to a continuous change in value often visualized to show patterns is "gradient." In the context of geospatial analysis, a gradient represents the rate and direction of change in a particular variable across a given area. For example, in environmental studies, gradients can be used to depict changes in temperature, precipitation, or elevation over a landscape. This visualization helps researchers and analysts understand spatial relationships and patterns within the data.

Gradients facilitate the interpretation of complex datasets by simplifying variations into visual formats, such as heat maps or contour maps, which makes it easier to identify areas of increase or decrease in the measured values. This is essential in various applications, such as urban planning, environmental monitoring, and resource management.

In contrast, the other terms listed do not encompass the same concept. Tidal fluctuations refer specifically to changes in sea level due to gravitational forces, which are periodic and not necessarily indicative of continuous spatial change. Orthometric heights deal with the difference in elevation of points above the mean sea level, focusing on vertical measurements rather than continuous changes across a surface. Finally, geospatial data is a broad category that includes all types of data with spatial properties, but it does not inherently describe the continuous variations that gradients do.