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One vast loop of current carries water around the world, and a full circuit takes centuries.

Earth Science Facts, sourced to NOAA.

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It is driven by density rather than by wind. Cold, salty water in the North Atlantic sinks, creeps along the sea floor toward the southern ocean and the Pacific, rises again, and returns near the surface. A parcel of water can spend a thousand years in transit. The loop moves an enormous amount of heat toward the poles, which is why the climate of northwest Europe is nothing like that of Labrador at the same latitude.

The claim comes from NOAA.

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