Coarse resolution general circulation ocean models show a tendency to accumulate an excess of bomb 14C on the eastern margin of the subtropical gyres, while observations suggest an excess is found in the west. Here simulations of the bomb 14C transient in the North Atlantic Ocean are made using coarse resolution (1.0¿¿1.2¿) and ''eddy-permitting'' (1/3¿¿2/5¿) tracer transport models. The former employs large horizontal diffusivities to parameterize eddy transfer. Both models employ the same air--sea exchange parameterization, with a specified tropospheric history of Δ14C. The coarse resolution model accumulates 14C evenly over the whole subtropical gyre, while the eddy-permitting model has a pronounced maximum column inventory in the western part, consistent with the observed patterns. The presence of explicit eddies enhances the ventilation of density surfaces in the recirculation zone on the western margin of the gyre, suggesting that the zonal gradient hinted at in the observations is intimately tied to properties of geostrophic eddy dynamics which are not captured parametrically in the coarse resolution model. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996