High Altitude and Low Air Pressure
Regions on the Earth's surface (or in its atmosphere) that are high above mean sea level are referred to as high altitude. High altitude is sometimes defined to begin at 2,400 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level.
At high altitude, atmospheric pressure is lower than that at sea level. This is due to two competing physical effects: gravity, which causes the air to be as close as possible to the ground; and the heat content of the air, which causes the molecules to bounce off each other and expand.
Because of the lower pressure, the air expands as it rises, which causes it to cool. Thus, high altitude air is cold, which causes a characteristic alpine climate. This climate dramatically affects the ecology at high altitude.
Read more about this topic: Altitude
Famous quotes containing the words high, altitude, air and/or pressure:
“What’s brave, what’s noble,
Let’s do’t after the high Roman fashion,
And make death proud to take us.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“On a level plain, simple mounds look like hills; and the insipid flatness of our present bourgeoisie is to be measured by the altitude of its “great intellects.””
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)
““With your air indifferent and imperious
At a stroke our mad poetics to confute—”
And—”Are we then so serious?””
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts.”
—Mary Pipher (20th century)