π Thermocline & Ocean Stratification
Temperature layers Β· Sound speed profile Β· SOFAR channel Β· Sonar physics
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π Thermocline & Ocean Stratification
What It Demonstrates
Ocean water forms distinct layers based on temperature and density. The thermocline is a sharp temperature gradient (typically 100β1000 m depth) separating warm surface water from cold deep water. The SOFAR (Sound Fixing and Ranging) channel forms near the minimum sound speed depth (~800 m) where sound rays from above and below refract back toward it β concentrating acoustic energy for long-distance propagation. During WWII, SOFAR was used to transmit distress signals; whales exploit it for ocean-spanning communication.
How to Use
The left panel shows the ocean cross-section with color-coded temperature layers. The cyan line is the temperature profile; the green dashed line is sound speed. Drag the Surface Temperature and Thermocline Depth sliders to reshape both profiles. Enable Sound Rays to see how rays refract and channel inside the SOFAR minimum. Switch Season presets to compare tropical vs polar stratification.
Did You Know?
The deep-ocean SOFAR channel allows sound to travel thousands of kilometres with little energy loss. In 1960, Project Artemis tracked a 300-lb explosive detonated near Australia from Bermuda β 19,000 km β using SOFAR propagation. Nuclear submarines exploit thermoclines for hiding: diving below the thermocline makes them much harder to detect by surface sonar because the temperature gradient reflects sound upward.