<descriptor thcode="62"><thesaurus thcode="62" name="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard" scope="Categories of ecosystems for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments." creator="FGDC" rights="public domain" date="2017-05-10" codetype="alpha" prefix="cmecs" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/CMECS" tblname="cmecs" root_code="root" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="62" code="WC-695" name="River/Estuary Plume" parent="WC-679" scope="Hydroform Type: Formation of water resulting from the discharge of low-salinity water into marine waters of the ocean, forming a distinct layer of water on top of the seawater due to its lower density. ..."/><bt><term thcode="62" code="WC-679" name="Mesoscale Lens" parent="WC-674" scope="Hydroform: A trapped, homogeneous parcel of water lying within (or atop) larger ocean fields due to density differences. These hydroforms are 30 - 300 kilometers in size."/><term thcode="62" code="WC-674" name="Water Mass" parent="WC-C012" scope="Hydroform Class: The Water Mass Hydroform Class refers to a parcel of water with homogeneous properties (e.g., chemical, physical). ..."/><term thcode="62" code="WC-C012" name="Hydroform" parent="WC-C001"/><term thcode="62" code="WC-C001" name="Water Column" parent="root"/><term thcode="62" code="root" name="CMECS" scope="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: Category terms encompassing waters from the head of tide or inland incursion of ocean salinity to the splash zone of the coasts to the deepest portions of the oceans and the deep waters of the Great Lakes."/></bt></descriptor>