ESS200A
Prof. Jin-Yi Yu
The Scale Height of the Atmosphere
qOne way to measure how soon the air
runs out in the atmosphere is to calculate the scale height, which is about 10 km.
qOver this vertical distance, air
pressure and density decrease by 37% of its surface values.
qIf pressure at the surface is 1
atmosphere, then it is 0.37 atmospheres at a height of 10 km, 0.14 (0.37x0.37) at 20 km, 0.05
(0.37x0.37x0.37) at 30 km, and so on.
qDifferent atmospheric gases have
different values of scale height.