Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a corroding layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes on the munitions, developing a renewed marine community denser than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we find in locations that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers reported in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to eliminate all life are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people transported them in barges; some were dropped in designated locations, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time scientists have documented how marine life has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are usually scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are often containing weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material rest in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted armed forces records and the situation that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries begin clearing these artifacts, experts plan to preserve the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures originating from weapons with some safer, some safe objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.