Cline caused by a strong, vertical chemistry gradient within a body of water
Aquatic layers
Pelagic
Photic
Epipelagic
Aphotic
Mesopelagic
Bathypelagic
Abyssopelagic
Hadopelagic
Demersal
Benthic
Stratification
Pycnocline
Isopycnal
Chemocline
Nutricline
Halocline
Thermocline
Thermohaline
See also
Marine habitats
Lake stratification
Ocean stratification
Aquatic ecosystems
Wild fisheries
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A chemocline is a type of cline, a layer of fluid with different properties, characterized by a strong, vertical chemistry gradient within a body of water. In bodies of water where chemoclines occur, the cline separates the upper and lower layers, resulting in different properties for those layers.[1] The lower layer shows a change in the concentration of dissolved gases and solids compared to the upper layer.[2]
Chemoclines most commonly occur where local conditions favor the formation of anoxic bottom water — deep water deficient in oxygen, where only anaerobic forms of life can exist. Common anaerobic organisms that live in these conditions include phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria and green sulfur bacteria.[3] The Black Sea is an example of a body of water with a prominent chemocline, though similar bodies (classified as meromictic lakes) exist across the globe.[4][5] Meromictic lakes are the result of meromixis, which is a circumstance where a body of water does not fully mix and circulate, causing stratification.[1][6]
In any body of water in which oxygen-rich surface waters are well-mixed (holomictic), no chemocline will exist, as there is no stratification of layers.[7] Chemoclines can become unstable when dissolved gases become supersaturated, such as H2S, due to mixing associated with bubbling or boiling (ebullition).[8]
^ abStewart KM, Walker KF, Likens GE (2009). "Meromictic Lakes". Encyclopedia of Inland Waters. Elsevier. pp. 589–602. doi:10.1016/b978-012370626-3.00027-2. ISBN 9780123706263.
^Uveges BT, Junium CK, Scholz CA, Fulton JM (2020-10-15). "Chemocline collapse in Lake Kivu as an analogue for nitrogen cycling during Oceanic Anoxic Events". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 548: 116459. Bibcode:2020E&PSL.54816459U. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116459. ISSN 0012-821X. S2CID 224981010.
^Danza F, Storelli N, Roman S, Lüdin S, Tonolla M (2017-12-15). "Dynamic cellular complexity of anoxygenic phototrophic sulfur bacteria in the chemocline of meromictic Lake Cadagno". PLOS ONE. 12 (12): e0189510. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1289510D. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189510. PMC 5731995. PMID 29245157.
^Sinninghe Damsté JS, de Leeuw JW, Wakeham SG, Hayes JM, Kohnen ME (1993-12-02). "Chemocline of the Black Sea". Nature. 366 (6454): 416. Bibcode:1993Natur.366..416S. doi:10.1038/366416a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 11974369.
^Oikonomou A, Filker S, Breiner HW, Stoeck T (June 2015). "Protistan diversity in a permanently stratified meromictic lake (Lake Alatsee, SW Germany)". Environmental Microbiology. 17 (6): 2144–2157. Bibcode:2015EnvMi..17.2144O. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.12666. PMID 25330396.
^Blees J, Niemann H, Wenk CB, Zopfi J, Schubert CJ, Kirf MK, et al. (2014-01-27). "Micro-aerobic bacterial methane oxidation in the chemocline and anoxic water column of deep south-Alpine Lake Lugano (Switzerland)". Limnology and Oceanography. 59 (2): 311–324. Bibcode:2014LimOc..59..311B. doi:10.4319/lo.2014.59.2.0311. ISSN 0024-3590. S2CID 56401767.
^Čanković, M; Žućko, J; Petrić, I; Marguš, M; Ciglenecćki, I (2020-05-14). "Impact of euxinic holomictic conditions on prokaryotic assemblages in a marine meromictic lake". Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 84: 141–154. doi:10.3354/ame01931. ISSN 0948-3055. S2CID 216313230.
^Riccardi, Anthony L.; Arthur, Michael A.; Kump, Lee R. (2006-12-01). "Sulfur isotopic evidence for chemocline upward excursions during the end-Permian mass extinction". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. A Special Issue Dedicated to Robert A. Berner. 70 (23): 5740–5752. Bibcode:2006GeCoA..70.5740R. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2006.08.005. ISSN 0016-7037.
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