Spatial variability and decadal trend of the oceanic CO2 in the western equatorial Pacific warm/fresh water

Data of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in surface seawater (pCO(2)SW) collected in the western equatorial Pacific (144 degrees E-160 degrees W, 5 degrees S-5 degrees N) since the 1980s have been used to determine the spatial variability and decadal trends in pCO(2)sw. A total of 104 cruises since 1983, including 30 cruises since 1990 with total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2) Measurements, are synthesized for this zone. The western equatorial Pacific warm/fresh surface water where T >= 29.0 degrees C and S <= 34.8 is nitrate-depleted, and it is moderately supersaturated with CO2 (0 < Delta pCO(2) ( = pCO(2)SW-pCO(2)air)/mu atm <40). A slight CO2 under-saturation (-20