How does sea spray return sulfur from the ocean to the atmosphere?

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A labeled diagram highlights sulfur's position on the periodic table, showing its atomic number 16, symbol S, atomic weight range, electron configuration, and classification as a solid, strongly acidic, orthorhombic nonmetal at room temperature. — sulfur Chemical properties of sulfur.

Sea spray returns sulfur from the ocean to the atmosphere through the physical release of large amounts of the element from the ocean surface into the air. This process is one of the three primary natural pathways by which sulfur reenters the atmosphere, alongside volcanic activity and the release of hydrogen sulfide gas by sulfate-reducing bacteria in environments such as marshes and tidal flats.1

Once in the atmosphere, sulfur exists in various forms, including sulfur dioxide and particulate sulfate compounds, which eventually return to the Earth's surface through dry deposition or precipitation.2