On the mechanism of the long-term trend of the oceanic CO2 in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

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While improving the methods for the measurement of ocean CO_2 system parameters, we made measurements of these parameters in the surface and in the interior of the equatorial Pacific. We also prepared the database “PACIFICA” for the ocean CO_2 system and biochemical parameters in the Pacific Ocean through the international cooperation under the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES). Using the PACIFICA database, we have demonstrated that CO_2 content in seawater is increasing and ocean acidification is occurring significantly in the tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean due to anthropogenic CO_2 emissions. The transport of anthropogenic CO_2 from the subtropical zones in the North and South Pacific through the shallow meridional overturning circulation is considered to be a key process controlling the CO_2 increase and ocean acidification in the western Pacific tropical regions