Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They form a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had settled on the weapons, developing a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed nearby.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in places that are considered dangerous and risky, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every square metre of the weapons, experts reported in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are intended to destroy everything are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This investigation shows that weapons could be comparably positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in vessels; some were deposited in designated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of marine species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing explosives, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately mapped, in part because of international boundaries, classified military information and the reality that archives are stored in historical records. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these relics, scientists plan to protect the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from munitions with certain more secure, some harmless materials, like maybe concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing material after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.