I found this by the author of the article I hope it helps.
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Richard Devanney As the author of the article in question, I thought I would elaborate a few things. Flaring is outlined as a last resort if all other options have failed, and if you find yourself nearing the surface, as you normally would if excessively buoyant. I would consider nearing the surface to mean the last 5m or so. I never intended that flaring should be used as a measure against the upcurrent itself, and could perhaps have been clearer about that in the article.
If you've been in a down or upcurrent, you'll know that things happen quickly and it can be a scary experience. They vary a lot in both intensity and duration and are influenced by the local topography. How they affect you and how you react depends on your awareness, surroundings, depth, and ability to stay calm and react quickly. No two upcurrents are exactly alike. You MAY have somewhere to shelter, you MAY be able to deploy a reef hook if it's a wall and you're close enough and fast enough, you MAY have to kick down and away. This MAY get you out of it.
I live in Indonesia and have experienced numerous up and down currents on OC and CCR. I have begun ascending on a deco dive and suddenly been hit by a downcurrent, finding that a full wing is moving me 9m/min slower than the 9m/min I should be ascending at. I have experienced strong upcurrents. One, in particular, was in Komodo. It took me (and my group of CCR divers) from 35m to around 12m in what felt like seconds despite venting the loop, wing and drysuit (I only add gas for the squeeze), and kicking the hell down and away from the wall. Luckily, that was not a deco dive. I've also done numerous dives trying to get out of less severe upcurrents that lasted for over an hour of deco. Swirling and rapidly changing up and downcurrents are a constant feature of diving in Indonesia. I have also experienced a strong but brief upcurrent in the Westman Islands in Iceland. Local knowledge is everything.
Down or upcurrents may be mild or severe. The more severe ones are usually (but not always), brief. None of the upcurrents I have experienced have taken me all the way to the surface; I understand that it is pretty rare for this to happen (that doesn't mean it couldn't or hasn't happened to other divers).
Here's the point- If you find yourself rapidly nearing the surface and you're still in the upcurrent, depending on your max depth and bottom time, you're screwed- flaring or not; let's hope it's not a deco dive. Thinking about hydrodynamics, density and drag are not going to help you.
It's more likely that the upcurrent has subsided or you managed to move out of it, but you're still approaching the surface because it happened so quickly you were so task-load and didn't have the presence of mind to dump gas in time, or realise you were out of it. In which case, flaring as you dump MIGHT slow you down in those last few seconds and metres. I will happily accept that this should have been elaborated more in the article. There is a reason that I no longer write for Scuba Diver Life, but continue to write for TDI, but that's beyond this post.
Scuba Diver Life articles are aimed at newer divers. The bulk of the article talks about listening to dive guides with local knowledge and experience, and following their directions and staying close to them during a dive. It also stresses the need to ensure you are comfortable and capable to dive in places where such currents can occur.
I really don't see the point in arguing around the margins of a worst-case scenario, but each to their own. I would just caution against hypothetical certainties from divers with no experience of these situations, and assertions of "I would do this", they have no value as learning tools and are better indicators of human biases."
