The Thermobaric effect is the name given to the dependence upon temperature of the compressibility of seawater - cold water is more compressible than warm water. Thermobaricity of seawater is of intereset to oceanographers becasue it provides a potential mechanism for creating overturning motions in the World's Polar Oceans. This link leads to a thermobaricity primer

The Maud Rise Nonlinear Equation of State Study (MaudNESS) is a research program aimed at understanding the role of thermobaricity (and other effects arsing from the nonlinearity of the seawater equation of state)in sustaining deep convection in the vicinity of Maud Rise in the Weddell Sea of the Southern Ocean. This link leads to the MaudNESS project homepage