Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They create a rusting carpet on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the munitions, forming a revitalized ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we find in areas that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, detonator compartments 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 reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer replacements, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research shows that weapons could be similarly positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of individuals placed them in vessels; a portion were placed in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are usually strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, classified military information and the fact that archives are stored in historical records. They present an detonation and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers aim to protect the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures originating from munitions with some safer, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.