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

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, thousands explosives have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

Researchers thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes among the explosives, creating a renewed marine community richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much life we observe in areas that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are meant to destroy everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This research reveals that munitions could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in designated locations, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are often strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, in part because of national borders, classified armed forces records and the situation that documents are stored in historical records. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states start clearing these artifacts, scientists aim to safeguard the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, various harmless objects, like possibly artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because even the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for new life.