thermocline

2 9.0

A layer in water where temperature drops quickly as you go down

noun
/ˈθɜrməˌklaɪn/

Specialized

: termoclina

Diving into the lake, we quickly noticed the thermocline as the warm surface water gave way to colder depths.
ocean's thermocline

And again the satellite cannot see because of the thermocline.

Examples

As depth increases, a relatively thin layer of warm water gives way to the thermocline, where temperatures decrease rapidly.

Academic text (1994)
The ocean has a distinct thermocline where the water temperature drops sharply below the surface.
Beneath that cloud, and a freezing cold thermocline, there could be a completely new world.

The Meg (2018)
Because little light reaches below the thermocline, photosynthetic organisms have not depleted the nutrients there.

Academic text (1995)
Upwelling water comes from below the thermocline, an abrupt transition zone that marks the boundary between warm surface waters and the deep waters.

Academic text (1995)
Below the thermocline, the ocean has a fairly constant temperature (1-3°C).

Academic text (1994)
The research team measured the thermocline at various depths to understand its effect on marine life.

Surface Forms

thermocline singular

thermoclines plural

Morphology

thermocline = cline (semi-transparent) = thermo + cline

The structure is clear as thermo- plus cline, but the term is a specialized scientific word whose full meaning is not obvious to many learners.

Etymology

The word thermocline comes from thermo- meaning 'heat', as in thermometer, and -cline meaning 'slope' or 'lean', like 'incline', so it is a 'heat slope' in a lake or ocean where the temperature changes quickly with depth.