Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous explosives have accumulated over the years. They create a corroding layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats amid the weapons, developing a revitalized habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, researchers reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This research shows that weapons could be equally beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the Germany's coast. Countless of individuals loaded them in boats; some were deposited in designated sites, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Shipwrecks 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 coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these weapons are poorly recorded, partly because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the reality that archives are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations begin removing these relics, researchers hope to preserve the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with some safer, some harmless structures, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.