Ocean breeze... from chemistry notes

While I've always thought the smell of the ocean was quite a pleasant one, I'm apparently mistaken. According to Andrew Johnston and coworkers, dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is the major form of sulfur released from aquatic environments and contributes highly to the distinctive smell of the ocean. Honestly, I've smelled a bottle of DMS before and the thought of comparing its smell with that of a gentle sea breeze never crossed my mind. Production of DMS in the oceans stems from dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which is a metabolite produced by seaweed phytoplankton, seaweed macroalge, and salt marsh grasses. During times of stress (like those times you come back from the beach looking worse than a lobster, when the UV-index is extremely high) plankton release DMSP, which is subsequently catabolized into DMS. One of cool fact--oxidation products of DMS are known to seed clouds--so do these creatures purposefully secrete DMSP to generate clouds and thus protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays? Something tells me that this is not the case, but it is interesting to consider nonetheless. DMS production protects cells from ROS and has been shown to prevent some kinds of viral infections in algae, and these are the more likely reasons for DMS synthesis. A potential downside of DMS production for these creatures?? They get eaten. Both crustaceans and birds are known to be attracted to its smell as it serves as a chemical indicator for food[1],[2],[3].

Note: Be sure to check out the "CLAW hypothesis" if you've never heard of it before...