"Oceans -0.15"

From the November 2010 Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol. 40, No. 11, at 2546-2555, the abstract of an article titled Changes in Temperature and Salinity Tendencies of the Upper Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean at 24.5°N, by Pedro Vélez-Belchí, Alonso Hernández-Guerra, Eugenio Fraile-Nuez and Verónica Benítez-Barrios:

Strong interest in multidecadal changes in ocean temperature and heat transport has resulted in the occupation of the North Atlantic Ocean hydrographic transect along 24.5°N five times since 1957, more than any other transoceanic section in the world. This latitude is chosen because it is where the northward ocean transport of heat in the Atlantic reaches its maximum. An analysis of the five oceanographic cruises at this latitude shows that there has been a significant cooling of -0.15°C in the upper ocean (600-1800-dbar range) over the last 7 years, from 1998 to 2004, which is in contrast to the warming of 0.27°C observed from 1957 to 1998.

As reported in the Register (U.K.):

In the opinion of Vélez Belchí and his colleagues, the drop in temperature seen in the mid-Atlantic cannot be put down to climate change -- in particular they don't consider that meltwater from glaciers or the polar cap is responsible. If that had been the underlying cause, a corresponding temperature drop "should have been observed clearly in the areas close to the North Pole", he says -- and none was.

The Register also quotes the paper's lead author conceding that "[t]he ocean's natural variability mechanisms are more significant than we thought."

No fooling--ocean temps have been steady or sinking for years. Meaning that, contrary to warming alarmists, the science isn't settled.

(via Don Surber)