Now this is interesting… a NASA-produced video illustrating worldwide ocean currents. A surprising number of “whirlpools,” and while the equatorial Pacific has a rampaging current, the northeastern Pacific seems to be pretty static.
[youtube xusdWPuWAoU]
Also note the Gulf Stream, taking warm water from the Caribbean to Britain. An interesting thought experiment: a few ex-Soviet citybuster bombs are placed in cargo ships and set off at strategic points in the Panama Canal. The Pacific Ocean is several dozen feet higher than the Atlantic, IIRC, at the canal… take out the locks properly and *perhaps* you could end up with a situation where the Pacific comes roaring through and scoops out a whole new canal. Would the flow be enough to divert the Gulf Stream? Probably not.
Interesting exercise, though.