There is no significant amount of sulfur held in the atmosphere with all of it coming from either sea spray or windblown sulfur rich dust,[4] neither of which is long lived in the atmosphere. In recent times the large annual input of sulfur from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels adds a substantial amount SO2 which acts as an air pollutant. In the geologic past, igneous intrusions into coal measures have caused large scale burning of these measures, and consequential release of sulfur to the atmosphere. This has led to substantial disruption to the climate system, and is one of the proposed causes of the great dying.
Dimethylsulfide [(CH3)2S or DMS] is produced by the decomposition of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) from dying phytoplankton cells in the shallow levels of the ocean, and is the major biogenic gas emitted from the sea, where it is responsible for the distinctive “smell of the sea” along coastlines.[1] DMS is the largest natural source of sulfur gas, but still only has a residence time of about one day in the atmosphere and a majority of it is redeposited in the oceans rather than making it to land. However, it is a significant factor in the climate system, as it is involved in the formation of clouds.