GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -thermocline, oceanic water layer in which water temperature decreases rapidly with increasing depth. A widespread permanent thermocline exists beneath the relatively warm, well-mixed surface layer, from depths of about 200 m (660 feet) to about 1, 000 m (3, 000 feet), in which interval temperatures diminish steadily.

Detailed explanation-2: -The top surface layer is called the epipelagic zone, and is sometimes referred to as the “ocean skin” or “sunlight zone.” This layer interacts with the wind and waves, which mixes the water and distributes the warmth. At the base of this layer is the thermocline.

Detailed explanation-3: -During the summer, warm water, which is less dense, will sit on top of colder, denser, deeper water with a thermocline separating them. The warm layer is called the epilimnion and the cold layer is called the hypolimnion.

Detailed explanation-4: -Below the thermocline lies the abyssal region of the oceans, where the temperature is much lower and variability generally much weaker than in the upper ocean. The average temperature is approximately 3.5 °C. These cold waters result from the cooling of water masses by the atmosphere in polar regions.

Detailed explanation-5: -Thermocline, therefore, is a transitional barrier or layer of water; within this layer or column of water, the water temperature changes rapidly and is very different from the warmer layer that is above it and the much colder layer that is below the thermocline.