Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed.

Researchers thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes among the weapons, developing a revitalized ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the persistence of marine life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we find in locations that are considered toxic and harmful, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every meter squared of the munitions, experts wrote in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are intended to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were placed in specific locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are typically rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually containing munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, classified military information and the situation that documents are stored in historic archives. They pose an detonation and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin clearing these remains, experts aim to preserve the ecosystems that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain more secure, various safe materials, like perhaps man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because including the most harmful armaments can become foundation for marine organisms.