Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the years. They form a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes on the munitions, forming a renewed habitat more populous than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was proof to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are considered dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were living on iron containers, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the munitions, scientists reported in their paper on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This research demonstrates that weapons could be equally beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of people transported them in barges; some were dropped in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has happened in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are often strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the situation that documents are hidden in old files. They present an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations embark on extracting these remains, researchers hope to safeguard the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures originating from munitions with some safer, some harmless objects, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in Lübeck creates a model for substituting material after explosive extraction in different areas – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.