ATM OCN (Meteorology) 100 Lecture 3

ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE:
A FUNDAMENTAL WEATHER ELEMENT

Fall 1997

Lecture #4 Scheduled for:

10 SEP 1997 (W)

Recommended Readings from Moran and Morgan (1997):

pages 109-120 (through 1st paragraph).

Objectives:

• To define and describe the concept of air pressure.
• To explain the meaning of pressure balance.
• To list the types of barometers.
• To describe the principles of the mercury and aneroid barometers and list their respective advantages.
• To list the usual values and the observed extreme ranges of the surface barometric pressure.
• To describe why and how the pressure changes with increasing altitude in the earth's atmosphere from the earth's surface to a height of several hundred kilometers.
• To explain why station pressure readings are reduced to mean sea level.
• To explain the fundamental cause for the difference between surface high and low atmospheric pressure cells.
• To explain the significance of air pressure tendency for local weather forecasting.

Outline:

A. INTRODUCTION

• A practical problem

B. ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• Fundamental Concepts - What is Pressure?
• Importance of Air Pressure
• Pressure Units

C. BAROMETRY

• The Science of Barometry
• Types of Barometers
  • Mercury Barometers
  • Aneroid Barometers
• Placement of Barometers

D. THE CLIMATOLOGY OF ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

• Spatial Variation in Atmospheric Pressure
• Variation of Atmospheric Pressure with Height
• Variation of Pressure with Time

Links to Other References:

• An educational resource unit on air pressure The Air Up There! Investigating Air Pressure
• The Pressure module from WW2010 (Univ. of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign)

Last revision 9 September 1997

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