Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have become matted together over the decades. They create a decaying blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

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

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues reacting with shock when the submersible first transmitted footage. This was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the munitions, creating a renewed habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are considered hazardous and harmful, he says.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every square metre of the weapons, researchers reported in their study on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are intended to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in vessels; some were dropped in designated sites, others just dumped en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more important for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically function as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever warfare has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are often containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately mapped, in part because of international boundaries, restricted armed forces records and the reality that archives are stored in historical records. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations start removing these remains, researchers aim to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains originating from munitions with some safer, various safe structures, like maybe man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.