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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.
Factors that affect the depth and thickness of a thermocline include seasonal weather variations, latitude and local environmental conditions, such as tides and currents.