What is the primary driving force behind surface ocean currents operating on a global scale across major ocean basins?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Planetary winds such as trade winds and westerlies exert frictional drag on the ocean surface, driving the movement of large-scale surface currents. Salinity gradients and temperature differences drive deep ocean thermohaline circulation rather than surface currents. Lunar gravitational pull is the primary cause of ocean tides rather than horizontal currents. Surface currents transfer heat energy from equatorial regions toward polar zones.