Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

Researchers anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had made their homes among the explosives, forming a renewed marine community richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in areas that are considered dangerous and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, researchers reported in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that explosives could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Numerous of individuals placed them in boats; a portion were dropped in designated locations, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the first time researchers have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have turned into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that records are buried in historical records. They present an detonation and safety hazard, as well as risk from the continuous emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries embark on removing these artifacts, experts hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.

We should replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with some less dangerous, some non-dangerous materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for new life.