Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Room air at altitude can be enriched with oxygen without introducing an unacceptable fire hazard. At an altitude of 8000 m the equivalent altitude in terms of oxygen partial pressure can be reduced to below 4000 m without increasing the fire hazard beyond that of normal sea level atmospheric air.
High-altitude mountaineering can induce pulmonary hypoxia due to decreased atmospheric pressure. This hypoxia causes vasoconstriction that ultimately leads to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). For this reason, some climbers carry supplemental oxygen to prevent hypoxia, edema, and HAPE.
In the region from sea level to around 3,000 m (10,000 ft), known as the physiological-efficient zone, oxygen levels are usually high enough for humans to function without supplemental oxygen and altitude decompression sickness is rare. The physiological-deficient zone extends from 3,600 m (12,000 ft) to about 15,000 m (50,000 ft).
At 11,900 m (39,000 ft), breathing pure oxygen through an unsealed face mask, one is breathing the same partial pressure of oxygen as one would experience with regular air at around 3,600 m (11,800 ft) above sea level [citation needed]. At higher altitudes, oxygen must be delivered through a sealed mask with increased pressure, to maintain a ...
Altitude acclimatization is the process of adjusting to decreasing oxygen levels at higher elevations, in order to avoid altitude sickness. [17] Once above approximately 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) – a pressure of 70 kilopascals (0.69 atm) – most climbers and high-altitude trekkers take the "climb-high, sleep-low" approach.
As HVR is a response to decreased oxygen availability, [1] it shares the same environmental triggers as hypoxia. Such precursors include travelling to high altitude locations [6] and living in an environment with high levels of carbon monoxide. [7] Combined with climate, HVR can affect fitness and hydration. [2]
Tibetans suffer no health problems associated with altitude sickness, but instead produce low levels of blood pigment (haemoglobin) sufficient for less oxygen, more elaborate blood vessels, [21] have lower infant mortality, [22] and are heavier at birth. [23] EPAS1 is useful in high altitudes as a short term adaptive response.
In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above which the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally agreed as 8,000 m (26,000 ft), where atmospheric pressure is less than 356 millibars (10.5 inHg; 5.16 psi). [ 1 ]