Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats among the explosives, creating a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in locations that are considered dangerous and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This research reveals that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people placed them in vessels; some were dropped in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Wherever warfare has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are poorly documented, partly because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the fact that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers hope to safeguard the habitats that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from weapons with some safer, various safe structures, like maybe man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting material after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.