A distinct layer in a body of water where temperature changes rapidly with depth, typically separating warmer surface water from colder deep water. This creates a barrier that limits vertical mixing.
From Greek 'thermos' meaning 'heat' and 'klinein' meaning 'to slope' or 'incline.' The term was coined in the early 20th century as oceanographers and limnologists studied temperature stratification in water bodies.
The thermocline acts like an invisible underwater ceiling - this temperature barrier can be so strong that it prevents nutrients from mixing upward and oxygen from mixing downward, essentially creating separate underwater worlds above and below! Marine animals often concentrate along thermoclines where different water masses meet.
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