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A new study has revealed that the methane leak from explosions in the Nord Stream pipelines has spread extensively across the southern Baltic Sea, impacting more than 20 marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region. Researchers from Gothenburg University and the "Voice of the Ocean" research center used underwater robots to measure methane concentrations in the area surrounding the pipeline leaks, which resulted from explosions in September 2022. The study found that while most of the methane rose to the surface and entered the atmosphere, a significant portion of it remained submerged, spreading through the Baltic Sea via ocean currents. In the initial days following the explosion, methane levels in the Baltic Sea were found to be approximately 1,000 times higher than normal. The study also revealed that methane had spread widely across the southern part of the Baltic, from the eastern coast of Denmark’s Zealand to Poland’s Gulf of Gdansk. "We estimate that more than 14% of the entire Baltic Sea has been exposed to methane levels at least five times higher than normal," said Martin Mohrmann, a scientist from the "Voice of the Ocean" and one of the authors of the study. The study also examined the effect of the leak on the region’s marine protected areas. Scientists used the measurements to develop a model that traced the spread of methane across the sea, showing that ocean currents carried the gas into 23 MPAs, which are designated to preserve marine ecosystems and biodiversity. The findings of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature.(Footage by Ferhan Kanca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)