Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his team members exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes among the weapons, forming a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Truly astonishing how much life we discover in locations that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he states.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers documented in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are intended to kill all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This study shows that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers placed them in boats; a portion were placed in designated sites, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the first time experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the reality that records are stored in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these artifacts, scientists hope to preserve the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some safer, various harmless objects, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what occurs in Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most destructive weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.