thermocline

American  

[thur-muh-klahyn] / ˈθɜr məˌklaɪn /

noun

1. a layer of water in an ocean or certain lakes, where the temperature gradient is greater than that of the warmer layer above and the colder layer below.

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thermocline British  

/ ˈθɜːməʊˌklaɪn /

noun

1. a temperature gradient in a thermally stratified body of water, such as a lake

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thermocline Scientific  

/ thûr′mə-klīn′ /

1. A distinct layer in a large body of water, such as an ocean or lake, in which temperature changes more rapidly with depth than it does in the layers above or below. Thermoclines may be a permanent feature of the body of water in which they occur, or they may form temporarily in response to phenomena such as the solar heating of surface water during the day. Factors that affect the depth and thickness of a thermocline include seasonal weather variations, latitude and longitude, and local environmental conditions.

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Other Word Forms

• thermoclinal
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of thermocline

1895–1900; thermo- + Greek klī́nē bed

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thermocline

This intensified circulation caused the thermocline, the boundary between warmer surface water and colder deep water, to become shallower across the Atlantic.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

It’s when you get past the effort thermocline that you’re actually “in the club”.

From Forbes ● Feb. 22, 2015

These turnovers are caused by the formation of a thermocline: a layer of water with a temperature that is significantly different from that of the surrounding layers.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Earlier that morning, Scipio had taken me to see for myself, through underwater caves of yellow and orange anemones where the tuna once swam along the cold door of the thermocline.

From New York Times ● May 20, 2011

But this double bounce inverts their effect: instead of depressing the thermocline, these twice-reflected waves now lift it up.

From Time Magazine Archive

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