mufcdiver.
I was hoping that you would come back with a post saying that perhaps deep ocean forms the main "backdrop" for ocean surface and near ocean surface temps. Thus. During 'extended low UV insolation' scenarios the "backdrop" is "kicked away" and ocean surface and near surface temps are left solely to their own energy levels for temp maintenance.
This may well be a reason for the apparent correlation between solar sunspot proliferation and surface temp, but there is more to this, the 10 cm flux and solar wind speed may also factor (as well as shorter wavelengths of insolation "percolating" down as half, of quarter, wavelength pulses).
Best regards, suricat.