Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had settled on the munitions, developing a renewed ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of life. Truly astonishing how much life we discover in areas that are considered dangerous and harmful, he states.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, experts documented in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the lost habitat. This investigation reveals that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of people transported them in boats; some were dropped in designated sites, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are typically scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our oceans.

The positions of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, partially because of international boundaries, classified military information and the reality that records are hidden in historical records. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these remains, scientists hope to protect the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures left from weapons with certain safer, various harmless materials, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most damaging armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.