Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Countless of marine animals had made their homes amid the munitions, forming a renewed habitat denser than the seabed around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we find in locations that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This research reveals that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in designated areas, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are typically strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances rest in our marine environments.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partially because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the situation that documents are stored in historical records. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations start clearing these artifacts, experts plan to safeguard the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with certain safer, some harmless materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most harmful armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.