The US Standard Atmosphere values are based on averages calculated for which locations?

The US Standard Atmosphere values are calculated based on average atmospheric conditions at mid-latitude locations. These mid-latitude areas provide a diverse environment that represents a variety of weather phenomena and atmospheric conditions without the extremes found in equatorial or polar regions. Mid-latitude regions are typically where weather systems are influenced by both tropical and polar air masses, which helps create the average conditions defined in the standard atmosphere model.

This average is crucial for a range of applications, such as in aviation, where understanding the behavior of the atmosphere at different altitudes aids in aircraft performance calculations. In contrast, considering only equatorial or polar regions would give an incomplete picture of atmospheric behavior, as those locations typically experience more consistent or extreme conditions that differ significantly from the averages established for mid-latitudes.