pycnocline

P3Y4C3N1O1C3L1I1N1E1

noun

A boundary layer in a body of water between areas of different temperature or salinity.

“The bay has fresher water at the surface and saltier water at the bottom, in between is the pycnocline.”

RareScrabble 19
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounpycnocline (plural pycnoclines)

plural pycnoclines

  1. A boundary layer in a body of water between areas of different temperature or salinity.

    The bay has fresher water at the surface and saltier water at the bottom, in between is the pycnocline.

  2. A layer of water where the density changes rapidly with depth

Origin

From pycno- + -cline.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pycnocline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pycnocline

MLA

“pycnocline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pycnocline. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pycnocline,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pycnocline.

Source: pycnocline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.