Because of unequal solar heating, temperatures vary over the entire globe the air at the equator is much warmer than at the poles. What is that all about?īasically, in a nutshell, every day the heat of the sun varies all over the Earth. So how does atmospheric pressure relate to daily weather patterns? No doubt you’ve seen weather forecasts presented on television the on-camera weathercaster making reference to high pressure and low pressure systems. As soon as that pressure diminishes (such as when we ascend a high mountain) less air is pushed into the lungs, hence less oxygen reaches our bloodstream and hypoxiation results again, not due to a lessening of the amount of available oxygen, but to the lessening of atmospheric pressure. Similarly, the pressure of all the air above our heads is the force that pushes air into our lungs and squeezes oxygen out of it and into our bloodstream. The pressure that is exerted by the weight of the water down near the bottom of the bucket is greater than up near the top, so the water is “squeezed out” of the hole at the bottom. The reason is the difference in pressure. What happens? Down there the water will rapidly squirt out in a sharp stream. Now take the pick and punch another hole down near the bottom of the bucket. Now, take an ice pick and poke a hole near the top of the bucket. Now picture this: A tall plastic bucket is filled to the brim with water. That oft-used analogy of comparing air with water (“an ocean of air”) is a good one, for we are all literally swimming through air. The big difference is not the amount of oxygen present, but rather density and pressure. And the proportion of that 21 percent is virtually the same at sea level as well as at high-mountain altitudes. In fact, 21 percent of Earth's atmosphere consists of life-giving oxygen (78 percent is composed of nitrogen and the remaining 1 percent a number of other gases).
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