Upper 750 Meters of Ocean temp.
The waater below a few meters does not have a direct effect on weather pattern formation.
NOAA's National Climate Data Center is idicating that we have warming of the Oceans surface.
e.g. Globally averaged ocean surface temperatures were 0.44°C (0.79°F) above the 1880-2002 mean, second warmest for January-October 2003.
January-September 2006 Global
Ocean +0.43°C (+0.77°F)
Raw data by month since 1880 is here.
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/anomalies/monthly.ocean.90S.90N.df_1901-2000mean.dat
You can plot the trend line and the global surface temperature change is pretty obvious.
You can plot the trend line and the global surface temperature change is pretty obvious.
What isn't obvious from that trendline is the effect of Solar Activity on cloud cover through modulation of Cosmic Ray flux with rising ocean tempertures since the maunder minimum as activity increased and cosmic ray flux decreased.
Solar Activity just topped out at its 8000 year peak in 2003, apparently starting its downside by 2004. Factors pointing to increasing low level cloud cover from here on out reflecting solar radiation back to space with consequent lower ocean heating. The leading edge of temperature decline showing up in upper level ocean currents 2004 b 2005 as pointed out.
Refer:
Effect of Solar Activity on lower level cloud cover: http://spacecenter.dk/xpdf/influence-of-cosmic-rays-on-the-earth.pdf
Solar Activity forcasts: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10may_longrange.htm
In short, the causal chain giving rise to increased surface and ocean temperatures is reversing.