I have been studying the reduction in barometric pressure and temperature with height and am happy with my findings ref temperature.
With regard to pressure I read that for every increase in altitude of 32 feet the pressure drops 1 mb. For every increase in height of 1000m the pressure drops 100 mb. These figures do not actually tally with each other.
Additionally when you consider this in comparison with the average barometric pressure on top of Everest, nothing makes sense.
Anyone any ideas?
Mike.
With regard to pressure I read that for every increase in altitude of 32 feet the pressure drops 1 mb. For every increase in height of 1000m the pressure drops 100 mb. These figures do not actually tally with each other.>>
32 feet is about ten meters, 1000 m is one hundred times that. Why do you not think theses figures tally?
As an aside, atmospheric pressure changing with altitude, re: the rules of thumb, include temperature. And, the drop in pressure is NOT linear. The rule of thumb you cited is ROUGH. A better correction is 8mbar per 1000m. At Everest peak, 10Km, that would mean a pressure drop of 800mb, or a pressure of 200mb, which is in the ballpark. The problem is, the drop in pressure with altitude is NOT linear, and in fact, there are temperature differences also.
The figures you mentioned for the drop in pressure with altitude might not exactly tally because the relationship between pressure and altitude is not linear. The rule of thumb that you mentioned is a rough estimate and does not take into account the non-linear relationship and the influence of temperature.
As you go higher in altitude, the atmospheric pressure decreases due to the decreasing density of air molecules above. It is important to note that temperature also plays a role in this relationship. In general, as you go higher, the temperature decreases as well.
A more accurate estimate for the drop in pressure with altitude is around 8 millibars (mb) per 1000 meters (m) of altitude. This means that for every 1000m increase in height, you can expect the pressure to decrease by approximately 8 mb.
Now, let's consider Mount Everest as an example. The summit of Mount Everest is around 8,848 meters high. If we apply the more accurate estimate, the drop in pressure would be approximately 70.8 mb (8.848 * 8).
This means that the average barometric pressure on the top of Everest would be significantly lower than at sea level. The actual average barometric pressure at the summit of Everest is about 200 mb, which aligns with the estimate we obtained using the more accurate calculation.
In conclusion, the drop in pressure with altitude is not a simple linear relationship, and factors such as temperature also influence this relationship. The rough estimates you mentioned are just rule of thumb approximations, and a more accurate calculation would take into account the non-linear nature of the relationship and the temperature differences.