The Standard
Atmosphere
AE 1350
Weather and the Atmosphere
• Weather varies across location and time
• A standard atmosphere is defined for the Earth
– We can say an airplane goes “100 mph” – and this will
have meaning, since this implies we are talking about
100 mph in standard atmospheric conditions
• Goes faster when air is less dense, has a tail wind, etc.
– The standard atmosphere model is only a function of
altitude (not latitude/longitude or time) and has no wind
• In terms of quantities we’ve been using
– Pressure ( p ) in pounds per square foot, Newtons per m2
– Density ( ρ ) in slugs per cubic foot, kilogram per m3
– Temperature ( T ) degrees Rankine, Fahrenheit, etc.
– Wind/gust velocity is zero
Hyrdostatic Equation
• Standard atmosphere uses a model that accounts for
pressure necessary to support the air above
• Consider a cube of air:
( p + Δp )L2
h is altitude
L is length/width of cube
ΔhG
L L
pL2
Hyrdostatic Equation
• Force must all balance
(from above and below plus gravity)
pL2 = ( p + Δp )L2 + ρgΔhG L2
( p + Δp )L2
g is acceleration due to
2
gravity: ⎛ r ⎞
g = g 0 ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
ΔhG ⎝ r + hG ⎠
Gives us the hydrostatic
L L equation:
go up and the pressure drops
pL2 Δp = − ρgΔhG
Geometric Altitude (hg)
• Geometric altitude is
the geometric height
above a sea-level
reference
• The gravitational
attraction (which
varies inversely with
the square of
absolute radius) at
this reference is
defined as g0
Geopotential Altitude
• The inverse squared gravity law makes the
differential equations a mess
• Fix this by defining a new type of altitude: so gravity
is effectively constant in the hydrostatic equation
Δp = − ρgΔhG becomes Δp = − ρ g 0 Δh
• To make this happen:
gΔhG = g 0 Δh
So…
g Both measures of altitude are
Δh = ΔhG
g0 nearly the same at low
r2
altitudes
Δh = ΔhG
(r + hG )2
Be careful which is being used!
Need to Relate Density and Pressure
• Model assumes air behaves like a perfect gas
(intermolecular forces negligible)
• Equation of state:
p = ρRT
where R is specific gas constant
J
R = 287 o
kg ⋅ K
ft ⋅ lb
R = 1716
slug ⋅o R
Put it all together…
Δp = − ρg 0 Δ h Hydrostatic equation
Δ p − ρg 0 Δ h
=
p p Divide by pressure
dp − ρg 0dh
= Use equation of state
p ρRT
dp g
= − 0 dh Cancel density
p RT
Now we have pressure as a
function of temperature and
altitude
The Standard Atmosphere Model
• The standard atmosphere is a temperature profile
(function of altitude)
dp g
• Use = − 0 dh pressure profile
p RT
p
• Use ρ= density profile
RT
• Convert from geopotential altitude to regular altitude
if needed
Temperature profile (first 20 km)
1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere
h 216.66o K ( −70o F ), tropopaus e
11km (about 36,000 ft )
lapse rate, about 3.5o F per 1000 ft
288.16o K (59oF )
T
In the Tropopause (above 36,000 feet)…
T is a constant
dp g
= − 0 dh
p RT
p dp g0 h
∫p1 p = − RT ∫h1 dh
ln
p
=−
g0
(h − h1 )
p1 RT
p − 0 ( h − h1 )
g h
= e RT
p1
ρ −
g
(h −h )
0
=e
1
RT
ρ1
p
Below the Tropopause…
T is proportional to h, by lapse rate (a)
dT
a=
dh −
g0
p ⎛T ⎞ aR
dh =
dT = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
a p1 ⎝ T1 ⎠
g0
dp g0 −
=− dh p ρRT ⎛ T ⎞ aR
p RT = = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
p1 ρ1RT1 ⎝ T1 ⎠
dp g 0 dT
=− ⎛g ⎞
− ⎜ 0 +1 ⎟
p aR T ρ ⎛T ⎞ ⎝ aR ⎠
= ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟
p dp g 0 T dT ρ1 ⎝ T1 ⎠
∫p1 p =−
aR ∫T1 T T = T1 + a (h − h1 )
p g T
ln = − 0 ln
p1 aR T1
Other Constants Needed
1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere
• To get the pressure/density profiles, still need values
at h = 0 p (0 ) = 101325
N
= 2112.2
lb
m2 ft 2
ρ (0) = 1.225 3 = 0.002377 3
kg slug
m ft
from Wikipedia
1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere is in your text, Appendix A & B
Geopotential Altitude, ft Temp, oR Pressure, Density,
Altitude, ft lb/ft2 slug/ft3
0 0 518.69 2116.2 0.0023769
1000 1000 515.12 2040.9 0.0022743
2000 2000 511.56 1967.7 0.0022409
Flight Measured Atmospheric Properties
More Useful “Altitudes”
• There a useful metrics to compare current
atmospheric conditions to the standard atmosphere
– Pressure altitude: Altitude in standard atmosphere with
pressure corresponding to current pressure
– Density altitude: Altitude in standard atmosphere with
density corresponding to current density
– Temperature altitude: …you get it…
