Production rate of airborne sea‐salt sulfur deduced from chemical analysis of marine aerosols and precipitation

On the basis of a thorough compilation of the results of measurements of marine aerosols and precipitation, the total sulfur deposition into the oceans is estimated to be 180–350 Tg S yr−1. From this amount, 120–250 Tg S yr−1 is attributed to sea‐salt sulfur, while 60–100 Tg S yr−1 is attributed to ‘excess sulfur’ By assuming that 10% of the produced sea salt is transported onto the continents, it is concluded that the annual production rate of sea‐salt sulfur is about 130–275 Tg S yr−1, several times higher than those fluxes used in the global sulfur budgets up to now.