Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a great moment, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes among the weapons, developing a revitalized marine community richer than the seabed nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be toxic and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to kill all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the lost habitat. This research shows that munitions could be comparably beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the German coast. Numerous of people loaded them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time experts have documented how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Wherever warfare has happened in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are typically strewn with munitions, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material rest in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are insufficiently documented, in part because of national borders, classified armed forces records and the situation that records are stored in old files. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with some more secure, various safe materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because even the most destructive armaments can become framework for marine organisms.