Thermocline formation is the development of a distinct layer within a lake or ocean where temperature drops sharply with depth, separating a wind-mixed, sun-warmed surface layer above from cold, largely undisturbed deep water below. In the open ocean a permanent thermocline persists year-round below the mixed layer, while in temperate lakes a seasonal thermocline forms each summer as surface heating outpaces wind mixing and then breaks down again each autumn as the surface cools and the water column overturns.
Facts
Process Type TimescaleA seasonal thermocline develops and breaks down over weeks to months each year; the permanent oceanic thermocline persists year-round. 1 Sources
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