Résumé
The partial pressure of CO
2 (
pCO
2) in the surface seawater and marine air from 17°S to 22°N near 151°W (WOCE leg P-16c) during the period from August 31 to September 29, 1991, were measured continually. The surface seawater
pCO
2 showed large latitudinal variation with a maximum of 425 μatm near the equator. These results are compared with
pCO
2 measurements in 1979, in the same area and same months. The short-scale (temporal and spatial) variations in surface seawater
pCO
2 (±6.1
μatm) do not allow us to unequivocally quantify the variation in
ΔpCO
2 (
pCO
2
sea −
pCO
2
air) between the years 1979 and 1991 due to oceanic uptake of fossil fuel CO
2. However, the data suggest that this ocean area might be a stronger source of CO
2 for the atmosphere than may be expected from results of ocean models.