Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Researchers anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he says.

Countless of marine animals had settled among the munitions, creating a regenerated marine community richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible piece of TNT. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the explosives, researchers documented in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are meant to kill all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the lost habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be comparably positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of people transported them in barges; a portion were placed in allocated sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time researchers have documented how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are typically scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted defense data and the situation that documents are buried in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin extracting these remains, experts hope to preserve the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being cleared.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain more secure, some harmless objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a example for substituting material after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most destructive explosives can become framework for ocean ecosystems.