Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless explosives have become matted together over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes amid the weapons, forming a renewed habitat richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we find in locations that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were living on every square metre of the weapons, scientists documented in their paper on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to kill everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most risky areas.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in specific areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of organisms that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are often containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are poorly documented, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are hidden in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and different states start removing these relics, researchers aim to protect the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures originating from munitions with some more secure, some harmless materials, like maybe man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing material after weapon clearance in different areas – because including the most damaging weaponry can become framework for ocean ecosystems.