OBAMA-NEXT Coordinator on the Urgency of Protecting the Baltic Sea
In a recent interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung, Jacob Carstensen, coordinator of the OBAMA-NEXT project and marine ecologist at Aarhus University, shared a stark perspective on the accelerating environmental crisis in the Baltic Sea and how science must respond.
Carstensen explained how decades of nutrient over-enrichment have led to the proliferation of oxygen-depleted “dead zones”, where life cannot survive. “Where once algae bloomed, we now see grey sludge and death,” he said, describing samples that show severe nitrogen impacts on the seafloor.
Carstensen has long studied the expansion of these hypoxic zones, which now cover over 60,000 square kilometres of the Baltic — a tenfold increase over the past century. The Baltic’s shallow, slow-renewing waters, combined with intensified agriculture and climate warming, make it especially vulnerable.
Despite efforts under the Baltic Sea Action Plan and EU directives, recovery has been limited. Carstensen stressed that “drastic reductions in nutrient inputs are still needed” and highlighted OBAMA-NEXT’s role in helping understand and model ecosystem changes to support evidence-based restoration.
The interview underlines the importance of OBAMA-NEXT’s mission: to equip policymakers and environmental managers with robust, high-resolution data tools — from machine learning models to integrated ecosystem maps — to make timely, informed decisions in support of marine biodiversity and sustainability.
Read the full article (in German) in Süddeutsche Zeitung, 24 January 2026 edition. (www.sueddeutsche.de/projekte/artikel/wissen/ostsee-todeszonen-landwirtschaft-sauerstoff-duenger-e287403/)
