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A.Word.A.Day--hypolimnion

hypolimnion (hy-puh-LIM-nee-on, -uhn) noun

The layer of water in a thermally stratified lake that lies below the thermocline, is noncirculating, and remains perpetually cold.

[Hypo- + Greek limnion, diminutive of limne, lake, pool.]

"Therefore, the warm top layer, called the epilimnion, tends not to mix with the denser lower layer, the hypolimnion. For all practical purposes, they're like oil and vinegar, and the two layers are free to slip and slide past each other." Teresi, Dick, Monster of the tub (legend of a mysterious beast beneath Lake Champlain), Discover Magazine, 1 Apr 1998.

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