Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes on the explosives, creating a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, researchers reported in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to kill all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide replacements, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This research reveals that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of people placed them in vessels; some were deposited in designated sites, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Wherever warfare has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically littered with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately documented, partly because of international boundaries, restricted defense data and the reality that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the persistent leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these relics, scientists hope to safeguard the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, various non-dangerous materials, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing structures after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most destructive armaments can become foundation for new life.