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

See Examples For:

hypsometer

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

The instruments we carried were two sextants and three artificial horizons -- two glass and one mercury -- a hypsometer for measuring heights, and one aneroid.

From The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian Antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-12 — Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Arthur G. Chater

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 Sir Douglas Mawson

To begin with, Bowers broke the only hypsometer thermometer, and so they were left with nothing to check their two aneroids.

From The Voyages of Captain Scott : Retold from the Voyage of the Discovery and Scott's Last Expedition by Charles Turley

Water boils at sea level at a temperature of 212° F. Here it boiled at 174° F. After taking the reading we greedily drank the water which had been heated for the hypsometer.

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