Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had settled among the explosives, creating a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in areas that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy everything are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky locations.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This study demonstrates that weapons could be comparably positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of workers placed them in barges; a portion were deposited in designated areas, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have become 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 beach in Guam

These areas become even more important for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has happened in the last century, nearby oceans are usually littered with explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the situation that documents are stored in old files. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as threat from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these remains, scientists plan to protect the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being extracted.

We should substitute these metal carcasses remaining from weapons with certain safer, some safe materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because even the most destructive armaments can become framework for new life.