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

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous munitions have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had settled amid the munitions, creating a renewed marine community denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in locations that are expected to be 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 carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to destroy everything are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research shows that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Countless of workers loaded them in vessels; some were deposited in designated areas, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Considerations

Wherever warfare has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our marine environments.

The sites of these munitions are poorly documented, partially because of sovereign limits, secret defense data and the situation that archives are hidden in historical records. They present an explosion and security danger, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations begin clearing these relics, experts hope to preserve the marine communities that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being removed.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with some more secure, various harmless materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.