Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a corroding carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had settled among the munitions, developing a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of marine life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in places that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the munitions, experts documented in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that items that are intended to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide replacements, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of workers transported them in barges; some were deposited in allocated areas, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are usually rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds lie in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, secret defense data and the reality that documents are hidden in historical records. They present an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the persistent release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these remains, scientists hope to safeguard the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

We should substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with certain less dangerous, some safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because including the most harmful weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.