Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless weapons have become matted together over the decades. They form a rusting blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats amid the weapons, forming a regenerated marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually surprising how much life we discover in places that are considered dangerous and risky, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the explosives, researchers documented in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation shows that explosives could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in boats; some were placed in designated locations, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the first time scientists have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations effectively serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, secret defense data and the fact that archives are hidden in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries begin extracting these relics, scientists plan to preserve the habitats that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous materials, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for replacing material after explosive extraction in different areas – because including the most damaging explosives can become framework for new life.