Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled on the explosives, developing a revitalized ecosystem richer than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, experts wrote in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most risky locations.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals transported them in barges; some were deposited in specific locations, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically function as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are usually strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the situation that records are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and other countries begin removing these artifacts, researchers plan to preserve the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

We should substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with some safer, some harmless objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most harmful weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.