Abstract
Occurrences of clear air turbulence in the stratosphere at altitudes of 45,000 to 68,000 ft are analyzed in terms of observed variability in vertical temperature gradients and balloon ascensional rates based on nearby radiosonde data. While the magnitudes of both parameters are positively correlated with the probability of encountering turbulence, the temperature gradient variability has a higher correlation and appears to delineate more clearly the turbulent from the nonturbulent cases.
