Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous munitions have become matted together over the years. They create a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had settled on the weapons, creating a renewed ecosystem denser than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in locations that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were living on every square metre of the munitions, scientists documented in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that weapons could be similarly positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in vessels; some were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are usually rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever military conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically littered with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material remain in our seas.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately mapped, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the reality that archives are stored in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries begin removing these artifacts, experts aim to protect the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being removed.

We should replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous objects, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what happens in Lübeck sets a example for replacing structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most harmful explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.