Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands weapons have become matted together over the decades. They form a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

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

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a great moment, he notes.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes amid the explosives, forming a renewed marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in locations that are supposed to be toxic and harmful, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, experts documented in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that items that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that munitions could be equally positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere warfare has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently documented, in part because of national borders, classified military information and the fact that archives are buried in old files. They create an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states begin removing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with some more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing material after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.