TEMPORAL VARIATIONS IN THE PARTIAL-PRESSURE AND FLUX OF CO2 AT OCEAN STATION-P IN THE SUB-ARCTIC NORTHEAST PACIFIC-OCEAN

The temporal variations in the partial pressure and air-sea flux of CO2 in surface seawater at Ocean Station P (50-degrees-N 145-degrees-W) between August, 1973, and July, 1978, were investigated. In the summer months of 1973-1977, the evasion of CO2 from the ocean to the atmosphere was less than 1 mM m-2 d-1 except for July of 1975 with a higher net flux of 1-2 mM m-2 d-1. In the other seasons and also in the summer of 1978, a net sea-to-air CO2 flux of about -3 mM m-2 d-1 occurred. The eastern subarctic waters around Station P was probably a small sink for CO2 during the 5-year observational period with an average net-to-air flux of about -0.7 M m-2 yr-1. The CO2 exchange coefficient (K) was about 0.05 M m-2-mu-atm-1 yr-1 and the unidirectional CO2 exchange rate was about 17 M m-2 yr-1.