Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the years. They create a corroding blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, developing a revitalized habitat richer than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are supposed to be toxic and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to kill all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This study demonstrates that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in vessels; some were deposited in specific sites, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are usually rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are often containing explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these explosives are insufficiently recorded, partially because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the reality that documents are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as danger from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries start extracting these relics, researchers aim to protect the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses remaining from weapons with some more secure, various safe structures, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for substituting material after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most harmful explosives can become foundation for new life.