(oceanography) The process by which two masses of water with different temperatures and salinities mix to form a new water mass with a density higher than the density of either parent water mass; also, the sinking of the new water mass as the effect of its increased density.
Examples
Mixtures of cold, fresh water ice melt and the warm, salty Spitsbergen Current may experience cabbeling, and might contribute to thermohaline circulation.