Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the second world war and neglected, countless weapons have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

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 life because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats on the munitions, creating a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the seabed around it.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible piece of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers reported in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation reveals that explosives could be comparably positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals transported them in barges; some were placed in designated locations, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired oil and gas structures have become coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the last century, adjacent waters are usually littered with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately mapped, in part because of national borders, classified defense data and the fact that records are hidden in old files. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these relics, experts plan to safeguard the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with some more secure, various safe materials, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a example for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because even the most harmful armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.