http://www.nmm.ac.uk/researchers/research-areas-and-projects/planet-ocean/news/new-scientist-archive/coral-reefs-create-clouds-to-control-the-climate
DMS is oxidized in the marine atmosphere to various sulfur-containing compounds said:Uh oh.. it breaks down into sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acids.... could it be that a thriving reef produces enough of its own localized acid rain and greenhouse gases to have an impact on itself? Ocean acidification anyone?
Its an interesting concept, one of the many links and many ways in which the basis of global warming is shown to be more localized and mother-nature driven than anything we do. What drives me nuts is you get these independent discoveries and they are automagically extrapolated into a global effect. The nice thing about this article is it maintained its localized impact. At some point, some smart individual or group of them, will piece the entire plant together into a computerized model that includes all these little discoveries so we can learn more about the entire system instead of grasping for connections that don't exist or are not nearly as monumental as some of them have been touted as being.
I find it interesting that DMSO ends up being a byproduct as well. The old 'wonder drug'......