A proposed new model for the prediction of latitude-dependent atmospheric pressures at altitude

Abstract

Modeling the change in atmospheric pressure as a function of altitude is of great interest in many fields of study, research, and various practical applications reaching beyond aviation. Similar to human performance being adversely impacted by change in elevation, this also holds true for most equipment relying on air to exchange energy and take in oxygen. The standard model atmosphere commonly used worldwide for more than 50 years originated in aviation and allows for the computation of the atmospheric pressure with only one input variable, altitude. This oversimplified approach predicts values with an accuracy that may be sufficient for most applications not requiring a high level of accuracy. But, as is demonstrated, the accuracy breaks down at extreme altitudes and when deviating from mid-latitudes. To overcome limitations in the simplified altitude model currently used, a new latitude-dependent model atmosphere for improved accuracy is proposed. The analysis and examples provided support this new latitude-dependent model atmosphere and demonstrate its advantage over the standard atmosphere. Although the standard atmosphere model is widely used and is the most cited in literature, information pertaining to its accuracy and its limitations is commonly missing or simply not known. This study successfully closes this gap. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first time such an attempt has been made, and the hope is that the results presented here will motivate further research in this matter.

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