Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Thousands of ocean life had settled on the explosives, creating a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the resilience of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be dangerous and risky, he says.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts reported in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are intended to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in barges; a portion were deposited in designated areas, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time experts have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of organisms that are usually rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The locations of these weapons are inadequately recorded, in part because of national borders, restricted military information and the situation that archives are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as threat from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states start clearing these artifacts, scientists hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being removed.

We should replace these iron structures left from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most harmful explosives can become framework for new life.