Our oceans are dying . 1 million tons of plastic monthly for 12 million tons yearly are dumped into our oceans creating the DMS I call it a smell “like oysters” or “kinda seaweed-y.” It’s the scent of dimethyl sulfide, or DMS—a gas that’s been described as a Keystone molecule because it influences everything from the presence of birds to the formation of clouds.

DMS is produced when microscopic animals graze upon the algae that grows near the ocean surface. Since it doesn’t dissolve easily in water, it eventually makes its way into the overlying air. That’s why passing sailors can smell it. Some of the gas rises into the atmosphere, where it seeds the creation of clouds. And other DMS molecules drift through the skies until they find their way into the noses of birds.

Tube-nosed birds—the albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters—soar across the open oceans, relying on their keen sense of smell to find food. For them, DMS is intensely alluring. This attraction makes sense. DMS gives away the presence of clouds of plankton, and so acts as a loud dinner bell, telling the birds where meals can be found. I volunteer to lead or participate in cleaning the plastic from our oceans as dead oceans mean a dead planet.