ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
Global context: Globalization and sustainability
Key concepts: Change, Global interactions, Systems
Related concepts: Causality, Diversity, Networks, Patterns and Trends, Processes, Sustainability
ATL Skills: Thinking skills
The air around you has weight, and it presses against everything it touches. That pressure is
called atmospheric pressure, or air pressure. It is the force exerted on a surface by the air above
it as gravity pulls it to Earth.
Atmospheric pressure is commonly measured with a barometer. In a barometer, a column
of mercury in a glass tube rises or falls as the weight of the atmosphere changes. Meteorologists
describe the atmospheric pressure by how high the mercury rises.
Figure 1. Barometer
An atmosphere (atm) is a unit of measurement equal to the average air pressure at sea level at a
temperature of 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit). One atmosphere is 1,013 millibars,
or 760 millimeters (29.92 inches) of mercury.
Atmospheric pressure drops as altitude increases. The atmospheric pressure on Denali, Alaska, is
about half that of Honolulu, Hawai'i. Honolulu is a city at sea level. Denali, also known as Mount
McKinley, is the highest peak in North America.
As the pressure decreases, the amount of oxygen available to breathe also decreases. At very
high altitudes, atmospheric pressure and available oxygen get so low that people can become
sick and even die.
Figure 2. Atmospheric pressure with altitude
Mountain climbers use bottled oxygen when they ascend very high peaks. They also take time to
get used to the altitude because quickly moving from higher pressure to lower pressure can
cause decompression sickness. Decompression sickness, also called "the bends", is also a
problem for scuba divers who come to the surface too quickly.
Figure 3. An American mountain climber stands on the summit of Mount Everest, Nepal. Mount Everest's altitude is so high that the amount of
breathable oxygen is too low for most people to breathe. Many climbers need oxygen tanks to safely reach the summit.
Aircraft create artificial pressure in the cabin so passengers remain comfortable while flying.
Atmospheric pressure is an indicator of weather. When a low-pressure system moves into an
area, it usually leads to cloudiness, wind, and precipitation. High-pressure systems usually lead
to fair, calm weather.
As the air pressure depends on the density of the air, and the density on its temperature, then
every change in air temperature conditions the change in air pressure.
Reduced air pressure data is entered on maps by isolines called isobars.
Areas of low air pressure form closed isobar systems, in the center of which the pressure is
lowest. They are called baric minimums or depressions, cyclones. On synoptic and climatological
maps, depressions are marked in the center with the letter L.
The area of high air pressure in the center of the isobaric system is called the baric maximum or
anticyclone. On synoptic and climatological maps, in the center of the baric maximum, the letter
H is written.
The synoptic map is based on a general geographical map, which includes the whole Earth, its
large continental and oceanic units or individual parts such as geographical regions and
countries, where conditional meteorological signs or symbols and numbers enter simultaneously
observed meteorological weather data. Recently, satellite images have been used, which
present photographs of cloud systems, on the basis of which an idea of the current state of the
weather is obtained, and the development of weather conditions in the next few hours or days
can be predicted.
Figure 4. Synoptic map
Why Do Your Ears Pop in Airplanes?
As you go up in an airplane, the atmospheric pressure becomes lower than the pressure of the
air inside your ears. Your ears pop because they are trying to equalize, or match, the pressure.
The same thing happens when the plane is on the way down and your ears have to adjust to a
higher atmospheric pressure.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/exposure/pressure.html
