atmospheric pressure and latitude

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From: Geoff Ruth (gruth@leadershiphigh.org)
Date: Fri Aug 20 2004 - 16:43:33 PDT 

Message-Id: <p0611040cbd4a9ffc2004@[192.168.1.51]>
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2004 16:43:33 -0700
From: Geoff Ruth <gruth@leadershiphigh.org>
Subject: atmospheric pressure and latitude

Hello,

This summer I went up to Denali Nat'l Park in Alaska, and read a
perplexing fact about the O2% content at very high latitudes: at high
latitudes, there is less oxygen present than at lower elevations at
the same elevation. I am assuming that this is because the total
atmospheric pressure is lower at high latitudes, and not because the
% composition of the air is different at high latitudes. Is this
assumption correct? If so, why does the atmospheric pressure decrease
at high latitudes? (I dread that answer has to do with the the
Coriolis Effect, my least favorite atmospheric phenomenon.)

Thanks so much,
Geoff

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