Sea air
Sea air has traditionally been thought to offer health benefits associated with its unique odor, which Victorians attributed to ozone. More recently, it has been determined that the chemical responsible for much of the odor in air along certain seashores is dimethyl sulfide, released by microbes.
Salts generally do not dissolve in air, but can be carried by sea spray in the form of particulate matter.
In Victorian times the quality of sea air was often degraded by pollution from wood and coal-burning ships. Today these fuels are gone, replaced by high sulphur oil in Diesel engines, which generate sulphate aerosols.
