Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin remembers his team members exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had settled amid the weapons, creating a revitalized habitat denser than the seabed around it.

This marine city was evidence to the tenacity of life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we discover in places that are considered toxic and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are meant to kill everything are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German coast. Countless of workers loaded them in boats; some were deposited in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance experts have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually containing munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, secret military information and the fact that documents are stored in old files. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on clearing these remains, experts plan to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, some non-dangerous materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most destructive weaponry can become framework for ocean ecosystems.