Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats among the weapons, forming a renewed ecosystem richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are expected to be dangerous and harmful, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can offer alternatives, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated locations, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are often littered with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are insufficiently documented, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted defense data and the situation that records are hidden in historic archives. They present an detonation and safety risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations start clearing these relics, scientists plan to preserve the marine communities that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures originating from weapons with some more secure, some harmless structures, like maybe concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for substituting structures after munitions removal in different areas – because even the most harmful armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.