<p>There is a sea-surface thermal front at the northwest tip of Scotland. On the western side is water from the Gulf Stream Drift - cool, but sufficiently comfortable to swim in. On the north side is Arctic water which is horribly cold and which nobody in their right mind would swim in. I write from personal experience! </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-17T18:25:11.880Z
Interesting. I guess i meant more in terms of physically sensing the movement of water, rather than the temperature difference between the 2 bodies. If you were around the thermal boundary in NW Scotland, would you be able to feel a current of water upwelling to the surface?
G. Gip
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-17T02:29:19.293Z
2016-07-17T02:29:19.293Z
Gordon Stanger
<p>If you were swimming/floating within a body of water experiencing upwelling due to sea-surface thermal fronts, would you be able to physically feel the water that is being up-welled or is it on a different scale not sensed by humans?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-16T19:09:23.120Z
Definitely yes! The temperature difference can be 5 degrees C in some cases
arkaia
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-17T18:26:38.173Z
Interesting. I meant more in terms of physically feeling the water-upwelling along a front, rather than sensing temperature differences between 2 water bodies.
G. Gip
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-18T08:42:43.110Z
The upwelling velocities are tiny in general. You will not feel them. There are only a few upward motions in the ocean that can be felt like a tidal bore: http://staff.civil.uq.edu.au/h.chanson/mascaret.html
arkaia
<ocean><oceanography><ocean-currents>
Can up-welling water at oceanic fronts be physically felt?
G. Gip
# Can up-welling water at oceanic fronts be physically felt?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-07-16)

If you were swimming/floating within a body of water experiencing upwelling due to sea-surface thermal fronts, would you be able to physically feel the water that is being up-welled or is it on a different scale not sensed by humans?

**Tags:** ocean, oceanography, ocean-currents

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Definitely yes! The temperature difference can be 5 degrees C in some cases  
> **username_0**: Interesting. I meant more in terms of physically feeling the water-upwelling along a front, rather than sensing temperature differences between 2 water bodies.  
> **username_1**: The upwelling velocities are tiny in general. You will not feel them. There are only a few upward motions in the ocean that can be felt like a tidal bore: http://staff.civil.uq.edu.au/h.chanson/mascaret.html  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-07-17. Score: 2

There is a sea-surface thermal front at the northwest tip of Scotland. On the western side is water from the Gulf Stream Drift - cool, but sufficiently comfortable to swim in. On the north side is Arctic water which is horribly cold and which nobody in their right mind would swim in. I write from personal experience!

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Interesting. I guess i meant more in terms of physically sensing the movement of water, rather than the temperature difference between the 2 bodies. If you were around the thermal boundary in NW Scotland, would you be able to feel a current of water upwelling to the surface?  

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