Carbon dioxide in surface seawater of the eastern North Pacific Ocean (Line P), 1973–2005

Partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in surface seawater has been measured in the northeastern Pacific Ocean at Station P and along Line P since 1973. These data have been divided into ‘oceanic’ and ‘coastal/transition’ zones, and the seasonal and interannual variability and the long-term trends for each zone have been examined. The oceanic zone shows little seasonality in surface seawater pCO2, with undersaturation throughout the year. A strong, biologically-driven seasonal cycle is offset by variation in temperature-dependent solubility of CO2. The coastal/transition zone shows a decline in pCO2 from winter–spring through summer and fall that is likely the result of seasonal stratification and convection rather than coastal upwelling. Interannual variability all along Line P is correlated with the multivariate ENSO index (MEI), with lower seawater pCO2 associated with El Niño conditions. Correlations with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation Index are similar but weaker, in part because there are few data prior to the 1976 regime shift. The long-term trend in seawater pCO2 in the oceanic zone is +1.36±0.16 μatm year−1, indistinguishable from the atmospheric growth rate, and varies little among the seasons. In the coastal/transition zone a slow increase in the pCO2 of surface seawater relative to that of the atmosphere has led to increasing undersaturation, particularly in spring. Aliasing of the seasonal and interannual variability due to sampling frequency may explain part of the observed trend in the coastal/transition zone, but real changes in physical or biological processes are also possible and require more detailed study.