  Modeling globally averaged information on climate forcing from the land
surface temperature data, the sea surface temperatures (SST) and the
empirically determined relationship between the changes in SST and the
turbulent diffusion of heat into the upper ocean demonstrates a consistent
link. The modeling is accurate throughout the 20th century despite the
different phases of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation (IPO) or the strong
divergence between land and ocean surface warming. It only fails during the
last 15 years when SST drops well below the trend. The finding reinforces the
view that slower global warming over the previous 15 years is not a caused by a
negative phase of the IPO or by the variations in the upper ocean (top 700 m)
warming but results from a change in the ocean behavior leading to increased
heat transfer into the deeper ocean.
