Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, creating a renewed marine community denser than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Truly surprising how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

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

It is ironic that things that are intended to kill everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see 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 risky areas.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This investigation shows that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people placed them in boats; some were dropped in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of organisms that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are poorly recorded, in part because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the fact that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations begin removing these remains, experts hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being cleared.

We should substitute these steel remains originating from weapons with certain more secure, some harmless materials, like perhaps concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because also the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.