Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and left behind, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They create a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats on the munitions, forming a revitalized habitat more populous than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, experts documented in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer replacements, replacing some of the lost habitat. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in vessels; some were placed in designated areas, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are poorly documented, partially because of national borders, classified defense data and the reality that archives are stored in historical records. They present an detonation and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and other countries start clearing these artifacts, scientists hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with certain more secure, various harmless materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because including the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.