Data for continuous and discrete measurements of carbonate parameters in a productive coastal region in the Northwestern Pacific (36°09'13.5''N, 129°24'04.9''E) from January to September in 2019 and from March to December in 2020

Photosynthetic organisms shift the dynamics of surface pCO2 driven by the sea surface temperature change (thermodynamic driver) by assimilating C from seawater. Here we measured net C uptake in a macroalgal habitat of coastal Korea for two years (2019–2020) and found that the macroalgal habitat contributed 5.8 g C m-2 month-1 of the net C uptake during the growing period (the cooling period, September-May). This massive C uptake changed the thermodynamics-driven seasonal dynamics such that the air-sea equilibrium of pCO2 was pushed into disequilibrium. The surface pCO2 dynamics during the cooling period were mostly influenced by the seasonal decrease in temperature and the proliferation of macroalgae, while the dynamics during the warming period (the stagnant period, June-August) closely followed that predicted based solely on the change in sea surface temperature only (thermodynamic driver). In contrast to the phytoplankton-dominated offshore waters (where phytoplankton populations are...