Definition

Region of the ATMOSPHERE, situated bet­ween the TROPOPA­USE and the STRATOPAUSE, in which the temperature generally increases with HEIGHT. From an imperfect analogy with the ATMOSPHERE, the term is sometimes applied in OCEANOGRAPHY to the nearly uniform masses of cold, deep and bottom water of middle and low LATITUDES. This LAYER is separated from the TROPO­SPHERE by the THER­MOCLINE.