Thermohaline

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A term describing the oceanic circulation pattern driven by differences in temperature and salinity
2. relating to the combined effects of heat and salt on water density
3. pertaining to the processes affecting deep-sea water movement due to varying thermal and salinity gradients

Etymology: Thermohaline is a straightforward technical coinage, built from two Greek-derived combining forms: "thermo-", from Ancient Greek "thermós" meaning "hot" or "warm", and "haline", from the Greek "hals" meaning "salt" (as in "halite" and "halogen"). Put together, the word describes anything driven by differences in both temperature and salt content. The term was made for oceanography, the study of seawater. Its meaning follows the physics it names: cold, salty water is dense and sinks, while warm, fresher water is lighter and rises, so these two properties together set the slow, global circulation of the deep ocean. Scientists needed one compact word for that combined effect, and "thermohaline" supplied it.