Height The atmosphere is held to the Earth by it's gravity. Most of it is located close to the surface.
Atmospheric pressure is measured with barometers.
The pressure of the atmosphere pushes liquid from the reservoir into the tube, thereby forcing the liquid in the tube to move into the vacuum. Changes in atmospheric pressure are observed as changes in the height of the column of liquid. Meteorologists often find it more useful to map the atmosphere according to constant pressure regions as opposed to constant altitude as it is the differences in pressure that cause winds and other forms of weather. The resulting maps look much like topographic maps drawn for the surface of the Earth. Temperature and Height Unlike pressure, temperature does not decrease steadily as altitude increases.