Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons eroded.

Researchers expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes on the weapons, creating a revitalized habitat richer than the sea floor surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are expected to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists reported in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to kill everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that weapons could be equally beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Numerous of individuals transported them in vessels; some were deposited in specific areas, others just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our marine environments.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately documented, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the reality that archives are buried in historic archives. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states start clearing these remains, scientists aim to safeguard the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain more secure, various harmless structures, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.