The effective pairing interaction of intranuclear nucleons near the Fe
rmi surface is calculated on the basis of a direct solution to the Bet
he-Goldstone equation in the S-1(0) channel for semi-infinite nuclear
matter. The resulting effective interaction sharply changes in the sur
face region (by an order of magnitude) from a strong attraction near t
he nuclear surface to a relatively weak attraction in the bulk of matt
er. The hypothesis that pairing in nuclei is superficial is thereby co
nfirmed.