The smell of the sea

Surprisingly, the smell of the sea doesn't only come from the salt from the ocean blowing in the air alone. It also comes from a marine plants and algae doing their photosynthetic thing while drifting in the upper waters of the ocean. Through this process of photosynthesis the marine plants and algae produce a compound known as dimethylsulfide or DMS.
DMS is therefore a biogenic gas ( bio meaning"living", genic meaning "produced by").
Apparently the gas was discovered around 30 years ago and has since been extensively studied for its contributing role in the global climatic system.
DMS controls and contributes to climate in playing a directive role in the global radiation balance. It does this by contributing to the condensation nuclei concentration in the air needed to form clouds. Clouds play two major roles in climate, they deflect solar radiation back into space but more importantly keep heat from escaping the earth from reaching space. The graph above shows the process quite well.
So the next time one can 'smell the sea' it is good to know that it isn't just the salt in the air that one is smelling.