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Pressure as a function of the height above the sea level. There are two equations for computing pressure as a function of height. The first equation is applicable to the atmospheric layers in which the temperature is assumed to vary with altitude at a non null lapse rate of : = [,, ()] ′, The second equation is applicable to the atmospheric layers in which the temperature is assumed not to ...
It indicates altitude obtained when an altimeter is set to an agreed baseline pressure under certain circumstances in which the aircraft’s altimeter would be unable to give a useful altitude readout. Examples would be landing at a high altitude or near sea level under conditions of exceptionally high air pressure.
The pressure (force per unit area) at a given altitude is a result of the weight of the overlying atmosphere. If at a height of z the atmosphere has density ρ and pressure P, then moving upwards an infinitesimally small height dz will decrease the pressure by amount dP, equal to the weight of a layer of atmosphere of thickness dz.
at each geopotential altitude, where g is the standard acceleration of gravity, and R specific is the specific gas constant for dry air (287.0528J⋅kg −1 ⋅K −1). The solution is given by the barometric formula. Air density must be calculated in order to solve for the pressure, and is used in calculating dynamic pressure for moving vehicles.
The graph on the right above was developed for a temperature of 15 °C and a relative humidity of 0%. At low altitudes above sea level, the pressure decreases by about 1.2 kPa (12 hPa) for every 100 metres. For higher altitudes within the troposphere, the following equation (the barometric formula) relates atmospheric pressure p to altitude h:
For this reason, this model may also be called barotropic (density depends only on pressure). For the isothermal-barotropic model, density and pressure turn out to be exponential functions of altitude. The increase in altitude necessary for P or ρ to drop to 1/e of its initial value is called the scale height:
In practice, since temperature usually drops with altitude, the graphs are usually mostly vertical (see examples linked to below). The major use for skew-T log-P diagrams is the plotting of radiosonde soundings , which give a vertical profile of the temperature and dew point temperature throughout the troposphere and lower stratosphere .
The greater the altitude, the lower the pressure. When a barometer is supplied with a nonlinear calibration so as to indicate altitude, the instrument is a type of altimeter called a pressure altimeter or barometric altimeter. A pressure altimeter is the altimeter found in most aircraft, and skydivers use wrist-mounted versions for similar ...