Killer weather on Mount Everest.In May 1996, eight climbers This list of climbers includes both mountaineers and rock climbers, since many (though not all) climbers engage in both types of activities. The list also includes boulderers and ice climbers. attempting to reach the peak of Mount Everest died. An analysis of weather patterns at the time suggests that a sudden drop in barometric ba·rom·e·ter n. 1. An instrument for measuring atmospheric pressure, used especially in weather forecasting. 2. Something that registers or responds to fluctuations; an indicator: pressure may have played a significant role in the tragedy. During the first week of that month, Mount Everest lay beneath a zone of abnormally high atmospheric pressure atmospheric pressure or barometric pressure Force per unit area exerted by the air above the surface of the Earth. Standard sea-level pressure, by definition, equals 1 atmosphere (atm), or 29.92 in. (760 mm) of mercury, 14.70 lbs per square in., or 101. , says Kent Moore, a physicist at the University of Toronto Research at the University of Toronto has been responsible for the world's first electronic heart pacemaker, artificial larynx, single-lung transplant, nerve transplant, artificial pancreas, chemical laser, G-suit, the first practical electron microscope, the first cloning of T-cells, . When wind speeds dropped on the evening of May 9, mountaineers from two expeditions left their 8,000-meter-high base camp and headed for the 8,848-m summit. On the afternoon of May 10, a storm with near-hurricane force winds engulfed the peak and trapped 26 climbers on the slopes. By May 11, the previous week's high barometric pressure had plummeted by about 5 percent. Although that may not sound like much, atop Mount Everest it's enough to reduce a climber's oxygen intake by 14 percent. For mountaineers already near their limits of endurance Endurance See also Longevity. Atalanta feminine name denotes power of endurance. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 148] Boston marathon famous 26-mile race held annually for long-distance runners. [Am. Pop. Culture: Misc. , the adverse effects of the pressure drop probably compounded the insults of fatigue, high winds, and extremely cold temperatures. Eight climbers didn't make it back alive, a tragedy chronicled in Jon Krakauer's 1997 book Into Thin Air (Villard). Moore's analysis suggests that the sudden drops in barometric pressure on Mount Everest in springtime are associated with jet streaks, which are areas of higher-than-average wind speed within the jet stream that steers storm systems through the Himalayan region each spring. If confirmed, this linkage linkage In mechanical engineering, a system of solid, usually metallic, links (bars) connected to two or more other links by pin joints (hinges), sliding joints, or ball-and-socket joints to form a closed chain or a series of closed chains. could open a way to forecast significant drops in barometric pressure, possibly preventing some climbing catastrophes, says Moore.--S.P. |
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