Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding layer on the low-depth, muddy 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 growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had made their homes amid the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we discover in locations that are expected to be toxic and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

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

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation shows that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in boats; some were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are often containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds lie in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are poorly documented, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that archives are stored in historic archives. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations begin clearing these remains, researchers aim to protect the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being cleared.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses originating from weapons with certain safer, various safe objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for replacing structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most destructive explosives can become framework for new life.