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

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," 1910-12 — Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Chater, Arthur G.

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 Bingham, Hiram

The hypsometer was not at that time an important instrument.

From My Attainment of the Pole by Cook, Frederick A.

In addition, we left there several pieces of clothing, a sextant, an artificial horizon, and a hypsometer.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 21 The Recent Days (1910-1914) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)