Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, thousands explosives have become matted together over the decades. They form a corroding layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had established habitats among the munitions, creating a renewed marine community richer than the sea floor surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in places that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, scientists wrote in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are intended to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This research demonstrates that weapons could be comparably positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of workers transported them in barges; a portion were placed in allocated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Issues

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually strewn with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted armed forces records and the fact that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations start removing these remains, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain more secure, various safe structures, like maybe man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most harmful armaments can become scaffolding for marine organisms.