Thermocline

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-027966",
  "term": "Thermocline",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. (THUR-moe-KLINE) The middle layer in a thermally stratified lake or reservoir. In this layer there is a rapid decrease in temperature with depth.\n\n2. 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.\n\n3. The boundary in a body of water between the top layer of warm water near the surface that is mixed and the cold deep water layer. This boundary is usually the transition zone where the greatest vertical change in temperature occurs.\n\n4. As one descends from the surface of the ocean, the temperature remains nearly the same as it was at the surface, but at a certain depth temperature starts decreasing rapidly with depth. This boundary is called the thermocline. In studying the tropical Pacific Ocean, the depth of 20 degrees C water (\"the 20 degrees C isotherm\") is often used as a proxy for the depth of the thermocline. Along the equator, the 20 degrees C isotherm is typically located at about 50 m depth in the eastern Pacific, sloping downwards to about 150 m in the western Pacific.\n\n5. Middle layer of a thermally stratified lake or reservoir. In this layer, there is a rapid decrease in temperatures.",
  "subject": "Natural environments",
  "see_also": [
    "Metalimnion"
  ],
  "references": [
    "Drinking Water Technical & Legal Terms",
    "Terms of Environment",
    "My NASA Data Glossary",
    "NOAA National Weather Service Glossary",
    "40 CFR 125.83 (CFR 2013); 40 CFR 125.93 (CFR 2013)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/thermocline/"
}