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Hypsometric equationThe hypsometric equation relates the atmospheric pressure ratio to the thickness of an atmospheric layer under the assumptions of constant temperature and gravity. It is derived from the hydrostatic equation and the ideal gas law. Additional recommended knowledgeIt is expressed as: where:
In meteorology P1 and P2 are isobaric surfaces and T is the average temperature of the layer between them. In altimetry with the International Standard Atmosphere the hypsometric equation is used to compute pressure at a given geopotential height in isothermal layers in the upper and lower stratosphere. DerivationThe hydrostatic equation: where is the density [kg/m3], is used to generate the equation for hydrostatic equilibrium, written in differential form: This is combined with the ideal gas law: to eliminate : This is integrated from to : Integration gives: simplifying to: Rearranging: or, eliminating the logarithm: References
Categories: Fluid mechanics | Temperature | Atmospheric thermodynamics |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hypsometric_equation". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |