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Systematic regional variations in the ratio of nutrient depth gradients of dissolved inorganic carbon (ΔDIC): nitrate (ΔNO3): phosphate (ΔPO4) in the upper layer (300m) of the Pacific Ocean are observed. Regional variations in the ΔDIC/ΔNO3/ΔPO4 are primarily the result of three processes, that is, the C/N/P of organic matter (OM) being exported and subsequently degraded, nitrogen fixation and air-sea CO2 gas exchange. The link between the observed dissolved ΔDIC/ΔNO3/ΔPO4 and the C/N/P of exported OM is established using surface layer dissolved DIC, NO3 and PO4 budgets. These budgets, in turn, provide a means to indirectly estimate the C/N/P of OM being exported from the surface layer of the ocean. The indirectly estimated C/N/P of exported OM reach maxima in the subtropical gyres at 177/22/1 that is significantly greater than the Redfield ratio and a minimum in the equatorial ocean at 109/16/1 with both results agreeing with available observed particle C/N/P and ocean biogeochemical models. The budget approach was applied to a bioactive trace element (TE) using the measured dissolved Cadmium (Cd) to PO4 gradients to estimate the Cd/P of exported OM in the Pacific Ocean. Combining the budget method with the availability of high-quality dissolved nutrient and trace element data collected during the GOSHIP and GEOTRACES programs could potentially provide estimates of the C/N/P/TE of exported OM on global ocean scales which would significantly improve our understanding of the link between the ocean’s biological pump and dissolved nutrient distributions in the upper ocean.