hydrostatic assumption

hydrostatic assumption

[‚hī·drə′stad·ik ə′səm·shən] (geophysics) The assumption that the pressure of seawater increases by 1 atmosphere (101,325 pascals) over approximately 33 feet (10 meters) of depth, the exact value depending on the water density and the local acceleration of gravity. Specifically, the assumption that fluid is not undergoing vertical accelerations, hence the vertical component of the passive gradient force per unit mass is equal to g, the local acceleration due to gravity.