Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, thousands munitions have accumulated over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Researchers thought to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled among the explosives, developing a regenerated marine community denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he states.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were residing on every square metre of the weapons, experts reported in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the lost habitat. This research reveals that munitions could be similarly positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of munitions were discarded off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals transported them in boats; some were dropped in specific areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more important for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our marine environments.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately mapped, partially because of international boundaries, restricted armed forces records and the reality that archives are hidden in historical records. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the persistent release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers plan to protect the marine communities that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from munitions with certain less dangerous, various harmless structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck creates a model for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most damaging weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.