Svante Odén
{{Short description|Swedish meteorologist, soil scientist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Svante Odén
| image = Svante_Od%C3%A9n_sample_photo_for_1967_newspaper_story_on_Dagens_Nyheter_(digitally_enhanced).png
| caption = Oden in 1967
| other_names = N F Svante Odén
| birth_date = 29 april 1924
| birth_place = Oscar Parish, Stockholm, Sweden
| disappeared_date = {{disappeared date and age|1986|07||1924|04|29|df=y}}
| disappeared_place =Baltic Sea near the Roslagen, Stockholm archipelago, Sweden
| disappeared_status = presumed dead
| occupation = Scientist
| era = 1960s-1980s
| known_for = Environmental activism
| father = Sven Odén
| relatives = Birgitta Odén (sibling)
| signature = Svante Oden signature.png
}}
Svante Odén (29 April 1924 – disappeared July 1986) was a Swedish soil scientist, meteorologist, and chemist. Often referred to as the father of acid rain research,{{Cite book|last1=Håkanson|first1=Lars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m28VAQAAIAAJ&q=Svante+Od%C3%A9n|title=The Lake Foodweb: Modelling Predation and Abiotic/biotic Interactions|last2=Boulion|first2=Viktor V.|date=2002|publisher=Backhuys Publishers|isbn=978-90-5782-110-3|pages=285|language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Hannigan |first1=John A. |title=Environmental Sociology: A Social Constructionist Perspective |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415112543 |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzHHvE07OqkC |access-date=5 December 2021 |quote=Of more immediate impact was the work of Svante Odén, a Swedish soil scientist. Odén, now widely regarded as the 'father of acid rain studies' (Park, 1987:6) not only found that the acidity levels of precipitation were increasing in Scandinavia but he was the first to definitively link source and receptor areas.}} Odén was the professor of soil science and eco chemistry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet) from 1971 to 1986. He was a pioneer of publicizing the problems of acid precipitation in Europe. In 1986, he disappeared while working on a submarine-detecting-device project in the Baltic Sea.
Life
He was born on 29 April 1924, in Oscar's Parish, Stockholm, Sweden. He was the son of Sven Odén, and the brother of Swedish historian Birgitta Odén.{{Cite web|title=skbl.se - Agnes Birgitta Odén|url=http://skbl.se/en/article/BirgittaOden|access-date=1 August 2021|website=skbl.se|publisher=Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728131048/https://skbl.se/en/article/BirgittaOden|url-status=live}} Odén became known for publicizing the problems of acidification and acid rain.{{Cite journal|last=Rodhe|first=Henning|date=1 December 2013|title=Bert Bolin (1925–2007) – a world leading climate scientist and science organiser|journal=Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology|volume=65|issue=1|pages=20583|doi=10.3402/tellusb.v65i0.20583|bibcode=2013TellB..6520583R|doi-access=free}}
For several years, Odén collected data on the chemicals contaminating the precipitation, lakes and land in Sweden; on 24 October 1967, he published an article in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, entitled Nederbördens försurning (Acidification of precipitation).{{Cite book|last=Luoma|first=Jon R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uMnI_nRkhgkC&q=Svante+Od%C3%A9n|title=Troubled Skies, Troubled Waters: The Story of Acid Rain|date=1985|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-008094-0|pages=77|language=en}}{{Cite book|last=Spurr|first=Henry Clifford|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qje6AAAAIAAJ&q=Svante+Od%C3%A9n|title=Public Utilities Fortnightly|date=1983|publisher=Public Utilities Reports, Incorporated|pages=22|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Lidskog|first1=Rolf|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQXYH3pz9AwC&dq=Svante+Od%C3%A9n&pg=PA203|title=Governing the Air: The Dynamics of Science, Policy, and Citizen Interaction|last2=Sundqvist|first2=Göran|date=2011|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-01650-6|pages=203|language=en}}
He wrote in the article that precipitation in Europe over a 20-year period had gradually acidified, hence the pH value in many places had dropped to below 4.7. In his writing, he argued that the Swedish landscape was suffering from environmental degradation due to the effects of industrial activity in other countries, especially Germany and the United Kingdom.{{Cite book|last=Mulvaney|first=Dustin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J2HqC9hhm3gC&dq=Svante+Od%C3%A9n&pg=PA2|title=Green Politics: An A-to-Z Guide|date=28 June 2011|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-9679-2|pages=2|language=en}}
Odén also warned of serious consequences such as fish dying off in the acidified water.{{Cite book|last=Schobert|first=Harold H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cm7vAgAAQBAJ&dq=Svante+Od%C3%A9n&pg=PA480|title=Energy and Society: An Introduction, Second Edition|date=27 March 2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-2645-4|pages=480|language=en}} The newspaper article was later followed up with several scientific reports. Odén's discoveries, which had major international impact, were the starting point for negotiations on measures to reduce sulfur emissions in Europe.{{Cite book|last=Edinburgh|first=Royal Society of|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8UXJqNxtd7YC&q=Svante+Od%C3%A9n|title=Acidic Deposition: Its Nature and Impacts|date=1991|publisher=Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=978-0-902198-07-4|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Odén, Svante N. F.(1924-1986) {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/oden-svante-n-f1924-1986|access-date=29 July 2021|website=www.encyclopedia.com|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729100752/https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/oden-svante-n-f1924-1986|url-status=live}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kRhLAQAAMAAJ&q=Svante+Od%C3%A9n|title=Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Acid Precipitation and the Forest Ecosystem, May 12-15, 1975, Columbus, Ohio|date=1976|publisher=Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station|language=en}}{{Cite book|last1=Disco|first1=Nil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8aAAAAAAQBAJ&dq=Svante+Od%C3%A9n&pg=PA218|title=Cosmopolitan Commons: Sharing Resources and Risks across Borders|last2=Kranakis|first2=Eda|date=7 June 2013|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-31334-6|pages=218|language=en}}
His reports suggested that industrial contaminates could travel through the atmosphere to locations very far away from the original source of the pollution.
Disappearance
In late July 1986, Odén was testing a top-secret newly-invented device that could detect submarines.{{Cite web|date=6 November 2015|title=Vetenskapsmannen som försvann {{!}} ANDERS JALLAI|url=https://www.jallai.se/2015/11/vetenskapsmannen-som-forsvann/|access-date=1 August 2021|language=sv-SE}} During this test, he disappeared in the Baltic Sea near the Roslagen, Stockholm archipelago; it is presumed that he died.{{Cite web|date=4 December 1986|title=Swede Working on Sub-Tracking Device Disappears|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-12-04-mn-1436-story.html|access-date=1 August 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=24 August 2016|title=Utredningen om Vetenskapsmannen {{!}} ANDERS JALLAI|url=https://www.jallai.se/2016/08/utredningen-om-vetenskapsmannen/|access-date=1 August 2021|language=sv-SE|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801083753/https://www.jallai.se/2016/08/utredningen-om-vetenskapsmannen/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|last=Rautenberg|date=20 August 2020|title=Der Fall Svante Odén - Unfall, Selbstmord oder Opfer im Kalten Krieg?|url=https://www.luftgangster.de/index.php/der-fall-svante-oden-unfall-selbstmord-oder-opfer-im-kalten-krieg/|access-date=1 August 2021|website=luftgangster.de|language=de-DE|archive-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801092156/https://www.luftgangster.de/index.php/der-fall-svante-oden-unfall-selbstmord-oder-opfer-im-kalten-krieg/|url-status=live}}
Odén's motorboat was found in good condition, but the submarine-detecting-devices and equipment were not recovered.{{Cite news|last=MOLLERSTROM|first=HARALD|date=5 December 1986|title=Report Missing Scientist Was Testing Sub-Detecting Device|work=Associated Press|url=https://apnews.com/article/07e9d6b622f7f3a383ffdc01ea893605|access-date=29 July 2021}} According to the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, the submarine-tracking device had received attention from the United States and Soviet Union.{{Cite news|date=4 December 1986|title=Forskare spårtöst försvunnen|trans-title=Researcher disappeared without a trace|page=3|work=Svenska Dagbladet|url=https://www.jallai.se/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SvD-Oden-1986.jpg|archive-date=1 August 2021|access-date=1 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801085022/https://www.jallai.se/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/SvD-Oden-1986.jpg|url-status=live}}
For over a year, the Norrtälje police department carried out a secret investigation of Odén's disappearance—the authorities told his relatives and friends to keep silent about the matter. An investigator told the Associated Press that Odén's fate was considered to be "an ordinary disappearance" at sea. The officer added that, "It was not unusual for dead bodies to go missing, and they didn't exactly know the place where he disappeared, it was a large area of the sea." The police closed the case, giving the following summary: "Finally, it can be said that through the investigation that has taken place, it is not possible to determine exactly how Odén left the motorboat or plastic boat."
See also
References
{{Portal bar|Biography|Sweden|Science}}
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Category:1980s missing person cases
Category:Missing person cases in Sweden
Category:Missing Swedish people
Category:Swedish earth scientists
Category:Academic staff of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences