Flexi Says: Surface currents are caused by major wind belts. These winds blow in the same direction all the time. So they can keep water moving in the same direction. The major wind belts push the water in the surface currents. The water moves in the direction of trade winds: east to west between the Equator and 30°N and 30°S. If there were no continents, then these surface currents would move all the way around the Earth, parallel to the equator.
