Vertical Velocity Estimates Research Articles

Assessing Current Coastal Subsidence at Continental Scale: Insights From Europe Using the European Ground Motion Service

AbstractBeside climate‐change‐induced sea‐level rise (SLR), land subsidence can strongly amplify coastal risk in flood‐prone areas. Mapping and quantifying contemporary vertical land motion (VLM) at continental scales has long been a challenge due to the absence of gridded observational products covering these large domains. Here, we fill this gap by using the new European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) to assess the current state of coastal VLM in Europe. First, we compare the InSAR‐based EGMS Ortho (Level 3) with nearby global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) vertical velocity estimates and show that the geodetic reference frame used to calibrate EGMS strongly influences coastal vertical land velocity estimates at the millimeter per year level and this needs to be considered with caution. After adjusting the EGMS vertical velocity estimates to a more updated and accurate International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF2014), we performed an assessment of VLM in European low elevation coastal flood plains (CFPs). We find that nearly half of the European CFP area is, on average, subsiding at a rate faster than 1 mm/yr. More importantly, we find that urban areas and populations located in the CFP experience a near −1 mm/yr VLM on average (excluding the uplifting Fennoscandia region). For harbors, the average VLM is even larger and increases to −1.5 mm/yr on average. This demonstrates the widespread importance of continental‐scale assessments based on InSAR and GNSS to better identify areas at higher risk from relative SLR due to coastal subsidence.

Online estimation of vertical velocity for deep-sea carriers based on depth data

Seabed residential stations are essential for the future exploration of the deep-sea exploration. Deep-sea carriers accompany transport equipment for underwater resident stations. To accommodate the low-energy consumption and low-cost nature of deep-sea carriers, an online vertical velocity estimation method based on depth data is proposed. This method serves as a cost-effective alternative to the expensive acoustic and inertial velocity measurement equipment conventionally used in underwater navigation systems. To meet the demand for low-cost online velocity measurements, a dynamic model was created for buoyancy-driven vehicles such as deep-sea carriers during unpowered ascent. Two distinct methods were used to process depth sensor data: one involves central differencing followed by low-pass filtering, and the other entails the differentiation of the data after fitting it to dynamic equations. This approach yields two different types of estimated velocities. A sliding window was defined and used the variance of the velocity and fitting coefficient within the window as indicators to assess the uncertainty of the velocity data. Based on this evaluation, an adaptive weight allocation rule for the fusion process was formulated. This approach allows us to derive the weighted estimated velocity. Through lake trials, the weighted estimated velocity was validated to closely match the ideal velocity data and showed a substantial reduction in velocity variance compared to the differenced estimated velocity that was not fused. This indicates that the fluctuations in the velocity data were significantly reduced. In addition, the integrated displacement showed an average absolute error of 0.1769 m compared with the measured displacement. This indicates that the weighted estimated velocity effectively reflects the true state of motion of the deep-sea carrier. Furthermore, when unexpected motion occurs in deep-sea carriers, the weighted estimated velocity can prevent falling into the "smoothness trap.” This demonstrated the robustness of the proposed algorithm.

Global Estimates of Mesoscale Vertical Velocity Near 1,000 m From Argo Observations

AbstractGlobal estimates of mesoscale vertical velocity remain poorly constrained due to a historical lack of adequate observations on the spatial and temporal scales needed to measure these small magnitude velocities. However, with the wide‐spread and frequent observations collected by the Argo array of autonomous profiling floats, we can now better quantify mesoscale vertical velocities throughout the global ocean. We use the underutilized trajectory data files from the Argo array to estimate the time evolution of isotherm displacement around a float as it drifts at 1,000 m, allowing us to quantify vertical velocity averaged over approximately 4.5 days for that depth level. The resulting estimates have a non‐normal, high‐peak, and heavy‐tail distribution. The vertical velocity distribution has a mean value of (1.9 ± 0.02) × 10−6 m s−1 and a median value of (1.3 ± 0.2) × 10−7 m s−1, but the high‐magnitude events can be up to the order of 10−4 m s−1. We find that vertical velocity is highly spatially variable and is largely associated with a combination of topographic features and horizontal flow. These are some of the first observational estimates of mesoscale vertical velocity to be taken across such large swaths of the ocean without assumptions of uniformity or reliance on horizontal divergence.

Seasonal controls on isolated convective storm drafts, precipitation intensity, and life cycle as observed during GoAmazon2014/5

Abstract. Isolated deep convective cloud life cycle and seasonal changes in storm properties are observed for daytime events during the US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign to understand controls on storm behavior. Storm life cycles are documented using surveillance radar from initiation through maturity and dissipation. Vertical air velocity estimates are obtained from radar wind profiler overpasses, with the storm environment informed by radiosondes. Dry-season storm conditions favored reduced morning shallow cloud coverage and larger low-level convective available potential energy (CAPE) than wet-season counterparts. The typical dry-season storm reached its peak intensity and size earlier in its life cycle compared with wet-season cells. These cells exhibited updrafts in core precipitation regions (Z>35 dBZ) to above the melting level as well as persistent downdrafts aloft within precipitation adjacent to their cores. Moreover, dry-season cells recorded more intense updrafts to earlier life cycle stages as well as a higher incidence of strong updrafts (i.e., >5 m s−1) at low levels. In contrast, wet-season storms were longer-lived and featured a higher incidence of moderate (i.e., 2–5 m s−1) updrafts aloft. These storms also favored a shift in their most intense properties to later life cycle stages. Strong downdrafts were less frequent within wet-season cells aloft, indicating a potential systematic difference in draft behaviors, as linked to graupel loading and other factors between the seasons. Results from a stochastic parcel model suggest that dry-season cells may expect stronger updrafts at low levels because of larger low-level CAPE in the dry season. Wet-season cells anticipate strong updrafts aloft because of larger free-tropospheric relative humidity and reduced entrainment-driven dilution. Enhanced dry-season downdrafts are partially attributed to increased evaporation, dry-air entrainment mixing, and negative buoyancy in regions adjacent to sampled dry-season cores.

Quantifying the effect of non-seasonal non-tidal loadings on background noise properties of GPS vertical displacements in mainland China

Global positioning system (GPS) vertical displacements measuring the elastic response of Earth’s crust to tectonic motion have been used to produce vertical velocity estimates. These accurate estimates require minimal contamination by non-tectonic deformations, mainly including atmospheric-oceanic-hydrologic mass loadings. However, the variability of background noise properties in GPS time-series caused by the removal of these loading deformations remains unclear. In this study, we investigate how the non-seasonal parts of two types of combined non-tidal loading deformations (i.e., atmospheric plus non-tidal oceanic loadings (AO) or AO plus hydrological loadings (AOH)) affect the background noise properties. The study region is focused on the mainland China, and the data are 258 GPS vertical land motion time-series from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC). Before and after the loading correction, we found that the more satisfactory background noise model is white plus power-law noise. The AO correction achieves significant improvement in white noise estimates and drastically reduces power-law noise content. Meanwhile, the estimated spectral index shows the worse stationarity of background noise properties but can be alleviated by additional hydrological loading correction. Besides, the exploited GPS imaging method reveals the spatial heterogeneity of the background noise amplitude, spectral index, and velocity uncertainty.

Vertical and Horizontal Water Penetration Velocity Modeling in Nonhomogenous Soil Using Fast Multi-Output Relevance Vector Regression.

A joint determination of horizontal and vertical movement of water through porous medium is addressed in this study through fast multi-output relevance vector regression (FMRVR). To do this, an experimental data set conducted in a sand box with 300 × 300 × 150 mm dimensions made of Plexiglas is used. A random mixture of sand having size of 0.5-1 mm is used to simulate the porous medium. Within the experiments, 2, 3, 7, and 12 cm walls are used together with different injection locations as 130.7, 91.3, and 51.8 mm measured from the cutoff wall at the upstream. Then, the Cartesian coordinated of the tracer, time interval, length of the wall in each setup, and two dummy variables for determination of the initial point are considered as independent variables for joint estimation of horizontal and vertical velocity of water movement in the porous medium. Alternatively, the multi-linear regression, random forest, and the support vector regression approaches are used to alternate the results obtained by the FMRVR method. It was concluded that the FMRVR outperforms the other models, while the uncertainty in estimation of horizontal penetration is larger than the vertical one.

Evaluating Vertical Velocity Retrievals from Vertical Vorticity Equation Constrained Dual-Doppler Analysis of Real, Rapid-Scan Radar Data

Abstract Accurate vertical velocity retrieval from dual-Doppler analysis (DDA) is a long-standing problem of radar meteorology. Typical radar scanning strategies poorly observe the vertical component of motion, leading to large uncertainty in vertical velocity estimates. Using a vertical vorticity equation constraint in addition to a mass conservation constraint in DDA has shown promise in improving vertical velocity retrievals. However, observation system simulation experiments (OSSEs) suggest this technique requires rapid radar volume scans to realize the improvements due to the vorticity tendency term in the vertical vorticity constraint. Here, the vertical vorticity constraint DDA is tested with real, rapid-scan radar data to validate prior OSSEs results. Generally, the vertical vorticity constraint DDA produced more accurate vertical velocities from DDAs than those that did not use the constraint. When the time between volume scans was greater than 30 s, the vertical velocity accuracy was significantly affected by the vorticity tendency estimation method. A technique that uses advection correction on provisional DDA wind fields to shorten the discretization interval for the vorticity tendency calculation improved the vertical velocity retrievals for longer times between volume scans. The skill of these DDAs was similar to those using a shorter time between volume scans. These improvements were due to increased accuracy of the vertical vorticity tendency using the advection correction technique. The real radar data tests also revealed that the vertical vorticity constraint DDAs are more forgiving to radar data errors. These results suggest that vertical vorticity constraint DDA with rapid-scan radars should be prioritized for kinematic analyses.

Argo Reveals the Scales and Provenance of Equatorial Island Upwelling Systems

AbstractEquatorial islands have distinct oceanographic signatures, including cool sea surface temperature and high productivity immediately to their west. It has long been hypothesized that topographic upwelling is responsible for such characteristics—upward deflection by the islands of the eastward‐flowing equatorial undercurrent (EUC). Using 22 years of in situ measurements by Argo, we provide the first direct observations of this process occurring with consistency at two prominent archipelagos in the equatorial Pacific. Argo measurements resolve a clear subsurface thermal fingerprint of vertical divergence at the depth of the EUC, confined to within 100 km of both the Gilbert (∼175°E) and Galápagos Islands (∼90°W). This signal at the Galápagos is well‐reproduced by a high‐resolution ocean reanalysis, enabling the estimation of vertical velocities balancing the zonal convergence of the EUC upon the islands. This sharpened view of the physics underpinning such important tropical ecosystems has implications for strategies to model and predict them.

Convective Updraft and Downdraft Characteristics of Continental Mesoscale Convective Systems in the Model Gray Zone

AbstractThe “gray zone” of convective modeling is defined as the range of horizontal grid spacings (Δx) at which turbulent transport processes are only partially resolved by the dynamics of the numerical model. This zone typically covers Δx from a few kilometers to several hundred meters, wherein the realistic representation of convective cloud processes can be challenging. This study characterizes the convective draft behaviors at multiple Δx across the gray zone and determines the appropriate Δx that can reliably capture these salient convective properties. We perform an ensemble of idealized simulations of mesoscale convective systems (MCS) using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at various Δx from 4 km to 250 m over the central U.S. An evaluation of key MCS kinematic properties is constrained using unique, long‐term vertical velocity estimates obtained by radar wind profilers deployed by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility. MCS simulations for all Δx tested overestimate (underestimate) the probabilities of convective updrafts (downdrafts) compared to the observations. In terms of the convective draft intensity, finer‐Δx models overestimate the updraft intensity, while the opposite is found for downdrafts. Moving from Δx = 4 km to 250 m, downdrafts become stronger and more frequent especially at middle and upper levels, attributed to additional drag from an increasing graupel frequency and compensation of enhanced updraft velocity. Simulated draft characteristics, including core size, intensity, and probability of occurrence, exhibit pronounced changes at Δx greater than 500 m, but suggest less sensitivity when Δx is reduced below 500 m.

Validation of Multistatic Meteor Radar Analysis Using Modeled Mesospheric Dynamics: An Assessment of the Reliability of Gradients and Vertical Velocities

AbstractA virtual meteor radar system based on the upper‐atmosphere extension of the high‐resolution ICOsahedral Non‐hydrostatic general circulation model is constructed to validate multistatic specular meteor radar (SMR) analyses. The virtual radar system examines the validity of mean winds and gradients estimation techniques used in multistatic SMRs. The study is motivated by unexpected mean values and tide‐like features recently observed in the vertical velocities estimated from multistatic SMRs at different latitudes in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The proposed analysis confirms multistatic SMR systems' excellent capability to measure the horizontal mean wind components and gradient terms. It is also found that multistatic SMRs can estimate mean vertical winds if they have an amplitude greater than ±2 m/s. Due to the smoothing inherent to the model results, these results should be treated as lower bounds to the error incurred using real data. Hourly variability in vertical velocity estimates up to ±1–2 m/s in the observed vertical winds are due to contamination by small‐scale horizontal structures in the horizontal winds.

Estimation of peak vertical velocity and relative load changes by subjective measures in weightlifting movements.

To investigate the ability of the OMNI-RES (0–10) scale to estimate velocity and loading changes during sets to failure in the hang power clean (HPC) exercise. Eleven recreationally resistance-trained males (28.5 ± 3.5 years) with an average one-repetition maximum (1RM) value of 1.1 ± 0.07 kg body mass-1 in HPC, were assessed on five separate days with 48 hours of rest between sessions. After determining the 1RM value, participants performed four sets to self-determined failure with the following relative loading ranges: 60% < 70%, 70 < 80%, 80 < 90% and > 90%. The peak vertical velocity (PVV), and Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) were measured for every repetition of each set. The RPE expressed after the first repetition (RPE-1) and when the highest value of PVV was achieved during the set (RPE-max) were similar and significantly lower than the RPE associated with a 5% (RPE-5%) and 10% (RPE-10%) drop in PVV. In addition, the RPE produced at failure was similar to RPE-5% only for the heaviest range (≥ 90%). Furthermore, RPE-1 was useful to distinguish loading zones between the four assessed ranges (60 < 70%, vs. 70 < 80%, vs. 80 < 90%, vs. ≥ 90%). The RPE seems to be useful to identify PVV changes (maximal, 5% and 10% drop) during continuous sets to self-determined failure and to distinguish 10% loading zone increments, from 60 to 100% of 1RM in the HPC exercise.

Stochastic parameterization of column physics using generative adversarial networks

Abstract We demonstrate the use of a probabilistic machine-learning technique to develop stochastic parameterizations of atmospheric column physics. After suitable preprocessing of NASA’s Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA2) data to minimize the effects of high-frequency, high-wavenumber component of MERRA2 estimate of vertical velocity, we use generative adversarial networks to learn the probability distribution of vertical profiles of diabatic sources conditioned on vertical profiles of temperature and humidity. This may be viewed as an improvement over previous similar but deterministic approaches that seek to alleviate both, shortcomings of human-designed physics parameterizations, and the computational demand of the “physics” step in climate models.

Evaluating groundwater flow using borehole temperature logs: Estimation of vertical groundwater flow velocity and effects of drilling disturbances

Evaluating groundwater flow using borehole temperature logs: Estimation of vertical groundwater flow velocity and effects of drilling disturbances

On One Solution of the Numerical Problem Differentiation in Calculation Vertical Speed of Aircraft

To ensure safety and improve the efficiency of flight missions, reliable information about the altitude and speed parameters of the aircraft (AC) is required. Therefore, improving the algorithm for calculating the vertical speed used as part of the algorithmic support for air signal systems (ASS) is a very urgent task. Purpose of the study. The problem of calculating the vertical speed of an aircraft in the ASS is considered. Materials and methods. The analysis of literature data on the use of numerical differentiation procedures to solve this problem is carried out, it is noted that the methods used are based on different ideas and approaches. It is indicated that two-point algorithms are significantly worse than multi-point algorithms in terms of the achieved accuracy, howe¬ver, they are characterized by significant simplicity and speed. Various versions of multipoint algorithms are used, differing in complexity, the amount of information used, and the accuracy achieved. The features of the regularizing algorithms, which are essentially filters of a low-frequency useful signal, suppressing the high-frequency component of the error in measuring the altitude signal or, what is the same, atmospheric pressure, are noted. The data on systems with hardware differentiation of the height signal are given. Results. A fairly simple four-point algorithm for numerical differen¬tiation is proposed and substantiated. Due to the averaging of both the measurement results themselves and the estimates of the derivatives, significant filtering of noise is realized, which is an important advantage of the algorithm. For greater accuracy in estimating the vertical speed, it is envisa¬ged to include a preliminary filtering algorithm in the experimental data processing scheme. The filtering algorithm is found from the solution of the optimization problem; it is shown that this algorithm is structurally similar to the filtering algorithms constructed according to the well-known approaches of R. Kalman. The results of computational experiments on the study of the features and characteristics of the proposed algorithms are presented, illustrating their advantages, performance and the possibility of further use in ASS. It is shown that preliminary filtering significantly increases the accuracy of the vertical velocity estimation. Conclusion. The developed algorithms can be used to improve the algorithmic support of the ASS.

Observed impact of meso-scale vertical motion on cloudiness

AbstractWe use estimates of meso-scale vertical velocity and co-located cloud measurements from the second Next-Generation Aircraft Remote Sensing for Validation campaign (NARVAL2) in the tropical North Atlantic to show the observed impact of meso-scale vertical motion on tropical clouds. Our results not only confirm previously untested hypotheses about the role of dynamics being non-negligible in determining cloudiness, but go further to show that at the meso-scale, the dynamics has a more dominant control on cloudiness variability than thermodynamics. A simple mass-flux estimate reveals that meso-scale vertical velocity at the sub-cloud layer top explains much of the variations in peak shallow cumulus cloud fraction. In contrast, we find that thermodynamic cloud-controlling factors, such as humidity and stability, are unable to explain the variations in cloudiness at the meso-scale. Thus, capturing the observed variability of cloudiness may require not only a consideration of thermodynamic factors, but also dynamic ones such as the meso-scale vertical velocity.

Frontal Convergence and Vertical Velocity Measured by Drifters in the Alboran Sea

AbstractHorizontal and vertical motions associated with mesoscale (10–100 km) and submesoscale (1–10 km) features, such as fronts, meanders, eddies, and filaments, play a critical role in redistributing physical and biogeochemical properties in the ocean. This study makes use of a multiplatform data set of 82 drifters, a Lagrangian float, and profile timeseries of temperature and salinity, obtained in a ∼1‐m/s semipermanent frontal jet in the Alboran Sea as part of CALYPSO (Coherent Lagrangian Pathways from the Surface Ocean to Interior). Drifters drogued at ∼1‐m and 15‐m depth capture the mesoscale and submesoscale circulation aligning along the perimeter of fronts due to horizontal shear. Clusters of drifters are used to estimate the kinematic properties, such as vorticity and divergence, of the flow by fitting a bivariate plane to the horizontal drifter velocities. Clusters with submesoscale length scales indicate normalized vorticity ζ/f &gt; 1 with Coriolis frequency f and normalized divergence of (1) occurring in patches along the front, with error variance around 10%. By computing divergence from drifter clusters at two different depths, we estimate minimum vertical velocity of (−100 m day−1) in the upper 10 m of the water column. These results are at least twice as large as previous estimates of vertical velocity in the region. Location, magnitude, and timing of the convergence are consistent with behavior of a Lagrangian float subducting in the center of a drifter cluster. These results improve our understanding of frontal subduction and quantify convergence and vertical velocity using Lagrangian tools.

A Satellite‐Based Estimate of Convective Vertical Velocity and Convective Mass Flux: Global Survey and Comparison With Radar Wind Profiler Observations

AbstractConvective vertical velocity (wc) and convective mass flux (Mc) lie at the heart of global climate model cumulus parameterizations, but few observations of these critical parameters are available. This paper develops and evaluates a novel, satellite‐based method for estimating profiles of wc and Mc. Comparisons with collocated ground‐based radar wind profiler (RWP) observations show that satellite‐estimated median wc is slightly greater than the RWP estimates, but they show solid agreement when compared at the 95th percentiles (intense updrafts). RWP‐derived and satellite‐estimated Mc are broadly comparable in the lower and middle troposphere, with some differences in the upper troposphere due to differences in convective core sampling. A k‐means cluster analysis of multiple years of wc data shows that convective characteristics are distinctly different among extratropical convection, tropical land convection, and tropical oceanic convection. Tropical land convection is significantly more intense and more variable than the oceanic counterpart.

Geothermal heat flux from measured temperature profiles in deep ice boreholes in Antarctica

Abstract. The temperature at the Antarctic Ice Sheet bed and the temperature gradient in subglacial rocks have been directly measured only a few times, although extensive thermodynamic modeling has been used to estimate the geothermal heat flux (GHF) under the ice sheet. During the last 5 decades, deep ice-core drilling projects at six sites – Byrd, WAIS Divide, Dome C, Kohnen, Dome F, and Vostok – have succeeded in reaching or nearly reaching the bed at inland locations in Antarctica. When temperature profiles in these boreholes and steady-state heat flow modeling are combined with estimates of vertical velocity, the heat flow at the ice-sheet base is translated to a geothermal heat flux of 57.9 ± 6.4 mW m−2 at Dome C, 78.9 ± 5.0 mW m−2 at Dome F, and 86.9 ± 16.6 mW m−2 at Kohnen, all higher than the predicted values at these sites. This warm base under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) could be caused by radiogenic heat effects or hydrothermal circulation not accounted for by the models. The GHF at the base of the ice sheet at Vostok has a negative value of −3.6 ± 5.3 mW m−2, indicating that water from Lake Vostok is freezing onto the ice-sheet base. Correlation analyses between modeled and measured depth–age scales at the EAIS sites indicate that all of them can be adequately approximated by a steady-state model. Horizontal velocities and their variation over ice-age cycles are much greater for the West Antarctic Ice Sheet than for the interior EAIS sites; a steady-state model cannot precisely describe the temperature distribution here. Even if the correlation factors for the best fitting age–depth curve are only moderate for the West Antarctic sites, the GHF values estimated here of 88.4 ± 7.6 mW m−2 at Byrd and 113.3 ± 16.9 mW m−2 at WAIS Divide can be used as references before more precise estimates are made on the subject.

Restratification at a California Current Upwelling Front. Part I: Observations

AbstractA coordinated survey between a subsurface Lagrangian float and a ship-towed Triaxus profiler obtained detailed measurements of a restratifying surface intensified front (above 30 m) within the California Current System. The survey began as downfront winds incited mixing in the boundary layer. As winds relaxed and mixing subsided, the system entered a different dynamical regime as the front developed an overturning circulation with large vertical velocities that tilted isopycnals and stratified the upper ocean within a day. The horizontal buoyancy gradient was 1.5 × 10−6 s−2 and associated with vorticity, divergence, and strain that approached the Coriolis frequency. Estimates of vertical velocity from the Lagrangian float reached 1.2 × 10−3 m s−1. These horizontal gradients and vertical velocities were consistent with submesoscale dynamics that are distinct from the classic quasigeostrophic framework used to describe larger-scale flows. Vertical and horizontal gradients of velocity and buoyancy in the vicinity of the float revealed that sheared currents differentially advected the horizontal buoyancy gradient to increase vertical stratification. This was supported by analyses of temperature and salinity gradients that composed the horizontal and vertical stratification. Potential vorticity was conserved during restratification at 16 m, consistent with adiabatic processes. Conversely, potential vorticity near the surface (8 m) increased, highlighting the role of friction in modulating near-surface stratification. The observed increase in stratification due to these submesoscale processes was equivalent to a heat flux of 2000 W m−2, which is an order-of-magnitude larger than the average observed surface heat flux of 100 W m−2.

On the estimation of vertical air velocity and detection of atmospheric turbulence from the ascent rate of balloon soundings

Abstract. Vertical ascent rate VB of meteorological balloons is sometimes used for retrieving vertical air velocity W, an important parameter for meteorological applications, but at the cost of crude hypotheses on atmospheric turbulence and without the possibility of formally validating the models from concurrent measurements. From simultaneous radar and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) measurements of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates ε, we show that VB can be strongly affected by turbulence, even above the convective boundary layer. For “weak” turbulence (here ε≲10−4 m2 s−3), the fluctuations of VB were found to be fully consistent with W fluctuations measured by middle and upper atmosphere (MU) radar, indicating that an estimate of W can indeed be retrieved from VB if the free balloon lift is determined. In contrast, stronger turbulence intensity systematically implies an increase in VB, not associated with an increase in W according to radar data, very likely due to the decrease in the turbulence drag coefficient of the balloon. From the statistical analysis of data gathered from 376 balloons launched every 3 h at Bengkulu (Indonesia), positive VB disturbances, mainly observed in the troposphere, were found to be clearly associated with Ri≲0.25, usually indicative of turbulence, confirming the case studies. The analysis also revealed the superimposition of additional positive and negative disturbances for Ri≲0.25 likely due to Kelvin–Helmholtz waves and large-scale billows. From this experimental evidence, we conclude that the ascent rate of meteorological balloons, with the current performance of radiosondes in terms of altitude accuracy, can potentially be used for the detection of turbulence. The presence of turbulence complicates the estimation of W, and misinterpretations of VB fluctuations can be made if localized turbulence effects are ignored.