Abstract The dynamics of the ocean partial pressure of CO2pCO2 $mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} } left(mathit{p}mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} }right)$ are driven by both thermal and non‐thermal forcing. The contributions of these two components can be decomposed following the methodology of Takahashi et al. (1993, https://doi.org/10.1029/93GB02263), Takahashi et al. (2009, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2008.12.009). This method has been applied to in situ open‐ocean pCO2 $mathit{p}mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} }$ data from 17 fixed‐position buoys, allowing for an Eulerian monitoring of this scalar. The effect of non‐thermal processes on pCO2 $mathit{p}mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} }$ dynamics was investigated through probability density function (PDF) and PDF quotient analyzes, which revealed their importance, particularly in relation to extreme pCO2 $mathit{p}mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} }$ values (relative to their distribution). This emphasizes the importance of high‐frequency pCO2 $mathit{p}mathrm{C}{mathrm{O} }{mathrm{2} }$ monitoring for carbon budget estimations, even in the open ocean, despite these ecosystems being less variable than, for example, coastal zones.