Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting blanket on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, forming a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in places that are supposed to be hazardous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers reported in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to destroy everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be equally positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were disposed of off the German coast. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; a portion were dropped in specific areas, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of marine species that are otherwise scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately mapped, partly because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are hidden in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and other countries begin removing these artifacts, researchers plan to safeguard the marine communities that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures left from munitions with some safer, some safe objects, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for new life.