We report marine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ∆14C from seawater collected from the North central Pacific Ocean (NCP) in 2015. These measurements show DOC ∆14C values averaged –235±5‰ (n=3) in the mixed layer (24–81 m) and –544±5‰ (n=5) in the deep water (1500–5139 m). A comparison of these data with two previously published DOC ∆14C profiles from the NCP in 1985 and 1987 reveals that deep DOC ∆14C values have decreased. We discuss several possible mechanisms that could cause such a shift in DOC ∆14C values, including spatial inhomogeneity and temporal variability due to changes in the dissolution and ∆14C value of surface derived particles in the deep sea. We find that forthcoming profiles of DOC ∆14C results from the NCP will determine the primary mechanisms controlling deep DOC ∆14C distributions, and changes over the past three decades.
