Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. This was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats on the weapons, developing a renewed marine community more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the resilience of life. Indeed surprising how much life we discover in areas that are considered hazardous and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, scientists wrote in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that items that are intended to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This study demonstrates that munitions could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Numerous of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time researchers have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partly because of national borders, secret defense data and the situation that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states begin clearing these artifacts, scientists aim to safeguard the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with some more secure, various safe objects, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because including the most harmful weaponry can become framework for new life.