Meanings
plural deep scattering layers
- geographyA layer of the ocean lying usually 300-500 metres deep composed of dense concentrations of pelagic animal life, that moves depending on the time of day, up at night and down during the day. It sometimes appear as if it were the seabed on sonar scopes, due to the density of life in the layer.
Synonyms: DSL, ECR layer, Eyring-Christensen-Raitt layer, false bottom, phantom bottom, sound scattering layer, SSL
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA layer of the ocean lying usually 300-500 metres deep composed of dense concentrations of pelagic animal life, that moves depending on the time of day, up at night and down during the day. It sometimes appear as if it were the seabed on sonar scopes, due to the density of life in the layer.
Origin
From being a layer of the ocean that lies deep, and scatters sonar signals.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
deep scattering layer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deep%20scattering%20layer
“deep scattering layer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deep%20scattering%20layer. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “deep scattering layer,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/deep%20scattering%20layer.
Source: deep scattering layer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.