Separate in situ measurements of electrochemical areas (ECA) under land and channel areas in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are realized using cyclic voltammetry. Experiments are carried out using special membrane electrode assemblies (MEA) in single-channel serpentine flow fields with different widths of channels and lands. The experimental results show that ECAs are significantly higher in the areas under the land than that under the channel. ECA-normalized polarization curves show that ECA is the most significant factor causing higher current density under the land than under the channel in the high cell potential region, and the true concentration polarization under the land in the low potential region is actually much greater than what can be seen in conventional polarization curves. Further experimental results show that, within the compression pressure range examined, ECA increases with compression pressure significantly. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.