Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and neglected, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Countless of sea creatures had made their homes amid the weapons, creating a revitalized ecosystem richer than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he says.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were living on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the removed habitat. This study demonstrates that explosives could be equally advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in vessels; some were placed in designated areas, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of marine species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are often containing explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately documented, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the fact that records are hidden in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states begin removing these remains, experts plan to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some safer, some safe structures, like possibly artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for new life.