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

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline sits a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a decaying layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats amid the weapons, developing a revitalized habitat more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, researchers reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide substitutes, replacing some of the removed habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be similarly positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of people placed them in barges; some were deposited in designated sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. Therefore a lot of species that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically strewn with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are inadequately recorded, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the fact that records are stored in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as risk from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these relics, scientists plan to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with certain safer, various non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most damaging armaments can become framework for marine organisms.