Solved cryptogram
A sharp layer of temperature divides warm surface water from the cold bulk of the sea below.
Earth Science Facts, sourced to NOAA.
What it means
Sunlight warms only the top of the water column, and wind mixes that warmth down a short way, so temperature falls very rapidly across a narrow band and then levels off. The layer acts as a barrier to mixing, which matters for nutrients and for life. It also reflects sound, which is why submarines hide beneath it and why sonar operators have to know exactly where it sits.
The claim comes from NOAA, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 75 letters over 20 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceNOAA
- CollectionEarth Science Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length75 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- NOAAmedium, 67 letters
- NOAAeasy, 70 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveymedium, 71 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveymedium, 76 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- NASAmedium, 82 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveymedium, 74 letters
- NASAmedium, 75 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 75 letters