We report an experimental study of a fluid layer of Prandtl number Pr510.3 subject to a horizontal temperaturegradient with the surface open to the air. For certain values of the control parameters ~fluid depth andtemperature difference! the basic flow is destabilized and a pair of so-called oblique hydrothermal waves isobserved. It is found that some main physical features are in agreement with those analyzed by Smith andDavis @J. Fluid Mech. 132, 119 ~1983!#. Vertical and horizontal temperature profiles were measured, showingbulk temperature oscillations that propagate in the direction of the temperature gradient. This behavior issimilar to the instability mechanism explained by Smith and Davis for intermediate Pr.
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