For Thermocline we have terms and definitions in 9 topics. The topics are Climate, El Nino, Environment, Fish, Microbiology, Oceanography, Physical Geography, Science and Weather.

Thermocline (Climate)

A transition layer of water in the ocean, with a steeper vertical temperature gradient than that found in the layers of ocean above and below. The permanent ther- mocline separates the warm mixed surface layer of the ocean from the cold deep ocean water, and is found between 100- and 1000-m depths. The thermocline first appears at the 55 - 60 degree N and S latitudes, where it forms a horizontal separation between temperate and polar waters. The thermocline reaches its maximum depth at mid-latitudes and is shallowest at the equator and at its northern and southern limits. The thermocline is stably stratified, and transfer of water and carbon dioxide across this zone occurs very slowly. Thus, the thermocline acts as a barrier to the downward mixing of carbon dioxide.

Thermocline (El Nino)

Layer of ocean water a few tens of meters thick that divides the mixed layer (a layer of relatively warm water just below the surface) from colder, deeper water. If one were to descend from the surface in a submarine, water temperature would remain almost constant through the mixed layer and then drop rapidly as one passed through the thermocline. The depth of the thermocline varies in space and in time. Along the equator it is usually only a few tens of meters below the surface in the eastern Pacific, compared to 100 meters or more below the surface in the western Pacific. During the onset of El Niño, the thermocline flattens out as the water in the mixed layer surges eastward in response to the weakening of the easterlies. When the thermocline is shallow it is easier for cold, nutrient-rich waters to reach the surface to fertilize the food web.

Thermocline (Environment)

The middle layer of a thermally stratified lake or reservoir. In this layer, there is a rapid decrease in temperatures in a lake or reservoir.

Thermocline (Fish)

That layer of water in a lake in which the temperature changes 10C with each meter increase in depth.

Thermocline (Microbiology)

Zone of water in a stratified lake in which temperature and oxygen concentration drop precipitously with depth.

Thermocline (Oceanography)

The region in the water column where there is a steep decline in temperature.

Thermocline (Physical Geography)

Boundary in a body of water where the greatest vertical change in temperature occurs. This boundary is usually the transition zone between the layer of warm water near the surface that is mixed and the cold deep water layer.

Thermocline (Science)

A region of rapid temperature change in the oceans that divides the surface waters from the deep waters.

Thermocline (Weather)

A vertical negative temperature gradient in some layer of a body of water which is appreciably greater than the gradients above and below it. In the ocean, this may be seasonal, due to the heating of the surface water in the summer, or permanent.

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