Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting carpet on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the explosives, creating a revitalized habitat richer than the seabed around it.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the explosives, researchers documented in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are designed to kill all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This research shows that munitions could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of individuals loaded them in boats; some were deposited in specific areas, others just dumped en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a lot of organisms that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that records are stored in historical records. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as risk from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations begin removing these relics, researchers plan to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures originating from munitions with certain safer, some safe objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.