Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 9, 2026

Waterfall plot

Waterfall plots are often used to show how two-dimensional phenomena change over time. A three-dimensional spectral waterfall plot is a plot in which multiple curves of data, typically spectra, are displayed simultaneously. Typically the curves are staggered both across the screen and vertically, with "nearer" curves masking the ones behind. The result is a series of "mountain" shapes that appear to be side by side. The waterfall plot is often used to show how two-dimensional information changes over time or some other variable such as rotational speed. Waterfall plots are also often used to depict spectrograms or cumulative spectral decay (CSD).

Last revised
Jun 9, 2026
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Source
FM station broadcasting at 91.7 MHz on seen on SDRpp spectrogram source ↗

Waterfall plots are often used to show how two-dimensional phenomena change over time.1 A three-dimensional spectral waterfall plot is a plot in which multiple curves of data, typically spectra, are displayed simultaneously. Typically the curves are staggered both across the screen and vertically, with "nearer" curves masking the ones behind. The result is a series of "mountain" shapes that appear to be side by side. The waterfall plot is often used to show how two-dimensional information changes over time or some other variable such as rotational speed. Waterfall plots are also often used to depict spectrograms or cumulative spectral decay (CSD).

Uses

The upper half of this diagram shows the frequency spectrum of a modern switching power supply which employs spread spectrum. The lower half is a waterfall plot showing the variation of the frequency spectrum over time during the power supply's heating up period. source ↗
Spectrogram and 3 styles of waterfall plot of a whistled sequence of 3 notes vs time source ↗


See also

See also

References

References

  1. Glen, Stephanie (11 January 2018). "Waterfall Plot / Chart: Definition, Types & Examples". statisticshowto.com. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
External links