Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the second world war and left behind, countless weapons have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had settled amid the munitions, developing a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we observe in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their study on the discovery. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are designed to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adjusts 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 Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, replacing some of the removed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the German shoreline. Numerous of workers transported them in barges; some were deposited in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are otherwise scarce or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are often strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The sites of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that archives are hidden in historical records. They create an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain more secure, various safe structures, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most harmful explosives can become foundation for new life.