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A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid (e.g. water, such as an ocean or lake, or air, such as an atmosphere) in which temperature changes more rapidly with depth than it does in the layers above or below.
Between the warm upper layer and the cold lower layer is a thin layer called the thermocline. The water in the thermocline is cooler than the upper layer and warmer than the lower layer. The light penetration and oxygen level in the thermocline are also improved. In most lakes the thermocline develops somewhere between 15-25 feet deep. The depth and thickness of the thermocline can vary from place to place on the same body of water, and some areas of a lake or reservoir may not show a distinct thermocline at all.