Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous munitions have accumulated over the years. They create a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats on the weapons, developing a revitalized marine community richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists wrote in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, restoring some of the lost habitat. This research shows that munitions could be equally positive – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers placed them in barges; a portion were deposited in designated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of species that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually containing munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material rest in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are poorly recorded, partly because of international boundaries, secret military information and the reality that records are hidden in old files. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the persistent release of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states start clearing these artifacts, researchers hope to preserve the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being removed.

We should substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, various harmless materials, like perhaps concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.