chemocline
noun
che·mo·cline
ˈkē-mə-ˌklīn also ˈke-
plural chemoclines
: the boundary in a body of water that separates a fresh upper layer from a deeper layer containing higher concentrations of dissolved solids and gases
The boundary, called the chemocline, between the deep water, rich with gas and minerals, and the fresh upper water stays intact. Gas saturates the bottom water and stays trapped there, like the carbon dioxide in a sealed bottle of seltzer.—Marguerite Holloway, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2001
This sulfide usually changes into a benign sulfate salt when the dissolved gas encounters oxygen to flourish at an underwater boundary called a chemocline.—N. Moreira, Science News, 28 May 2005
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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