Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members shouting with surprise when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats among the explosives, developing a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. Truly astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in places that are considered toxic and risky, he says.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists reported in their study on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are intended to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This study demonstrates that explosives could be similarly positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were placed in allocated sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have recorded how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our oceans.

The locations of these explosives are poorly recorded, partly because of sovereign limits, classified armed forces records and the situation that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and security danger, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries start removing these remains, experts hope to safeguard the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with certain safer, various safe structures, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most destructive explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.