Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats on the munitions, creating a revitalized ecosystem richer than the sea floor surrounding it.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists wrote in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are designed to kill everything are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study shows that munitions could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers placed them in boats; some were deposited in allocated locations, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are often containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are poorly mapped, in part because of international boundaries, classified military information and the fact that archives are buried in historic archives. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations begin removing these remains, experts hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being extracted.

We should replace these steel remains originating from weapons with some less dangerous, some non-dangerous objects, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.