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

In the brackish waters off the German coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands explosives have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

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

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had settled on the explosives, forming a renewed ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in areas that are considered toxic and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill all life are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation reveals that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were dropped in specific locations, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are poorly documented, partially because of sovereign limits, secret defense data and the situation that records are buried in historical records. They create an detonation and safety risk, as well as danger from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start clearing these artifacts, experts hope to preserve the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain safer, some non-dangerous objects, like maybe artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most harmful armaments can become framework for marine organisms.