hypsometer

American  

[hip-som-i-ter] / hɪpˈsɒm ɪ tər /

noun

1. thermobarometer.

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hypsometer British  

/ hɪpˈsɒmɪtə /

noun

1. an instrument for measuring altitudes by determining the boiling point of water at a given altitude

2. any instrument used to calculate the heights of trees by triangulation

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hypsometer Scientific  

/ hĭp-sŏm′ĭ-tər /

1. An instrument used to determine land elevation by observing the atmospheric pressure as measured by the change in the boiling point of a liquid, usually water. Liquids boil at progressively lower temperatures as the atmospheric pressure decreases, and since atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude, the temperature at which the liquid boils is an indicator of the atmospheric pressure at that location and hence of the location's altitude.

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Etymology

Origin of hypsometer

First recorded in 1860–65; hypso- + -meter

Example Sentences

Tree measurements are collected using such forestry tools as a low-tech Biltmore stick, a clinometer or, most accurate of all, a laser hypsometer.

From Washington Times • Aug. 5, 2016

Everything unessential was stripped off the sledge, including dip-circle, thermometers, hypsometer, camera, spare clothing and most of the medical and repair kits.

From The Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 by Mawson, Douglas, Sir

According to the hypsometer and our aneroid barometer we were at a height of 11,075 feet — this was in lat.

From The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-1912 — Volume 1 by Chater, Arthur G.

There is something definite and uncompromising about the boiling-point hypsometer; no tapping will make it rise or fall; it reaches its mark unmistakably and does not budge.

From The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley) A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America by Stuck, Hudson

The temperature of the thermometer on the barometer was exactly +32° F. At the same time, inside the tent we got the water to boiling and took a reading with the hypsometer.

From Inca Land Explorations in the Highlands of Peru by Bingham, Hiram