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

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a corroding layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay 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 sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons eroded.

We initially expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the explosives, developing a renewed habitat more populous than the seabed around it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists reported in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are meant to destroy everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation reveals that explosives could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were discarded off the German shoreline. Thousands of people loaded them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated sites, others just dumped en route. This is the first time scientists have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of marine species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are often strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partially because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that archives are hidden in historic archives. They pose an detonation and safety hazard, as well as risk from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries start removing these relics, experts hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain safer, some harmless structures, like maybe artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.