Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had established habitats on the weapons, forming a renewed habitat more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in areas that are considered dangerous and harmful, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to kill all life are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This study reveals that explosives could be comparably positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals placed them in boats; some were placed in designated sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time scientists have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are usually rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately documented, in part because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the fact that documents are buried in historic archives. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations embark on removing these artifacts, scientists aim to protect the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from munitions with some more secure, various safe materials, like perhaps man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most harmful explosives can become framework for new life.