The amount of 14C produced by nuclear bomb testing that entered the Atlantic Ocean by late 1972 was 1.71¿10-8 μmol/cm2 of ocean surface area for the west Atlantic (36¿S-45¿N) and 1.18¿10-8 μmol/cm2 for the east Atlantic (50¿S-28¿N) Geochemical Ocean Sections Study stations. There are strong latitudinal differences in the integrated amount of bomb 14C content in Atlantic waters. Bomb-produced 14C is mostly encountered near the center of the large mid-latitude gyres, whereas the equatorial region has a lower 14C inventory. The average ocean wide vertical distribution of bomb 14C in the Atlantic can be explained by a vertical eddy diffusion coefficient of 4.0 cm2/s in the surface mixed layer plus thermocline gyre reservoirs. The average 14C activity per unit area measured in the Atlantic yields an atmosphere-ocean CO2 exchange rate of 23 mol/m2 yr, which is equivalent with an atmospheric CO2 residence time of 6.8 years.