Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and left behind, countless explosives have become matted together over the years. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats among the explosives, developing a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the seabed nearby.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are expected to be toxic and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers wrote in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to destroy all life are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This investigation reveals that weapons could be equally positive – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; a portion were deposited in specific areas, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially function as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are usually littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are poorly recorded, in part because of national borders, classified defense data and the situation that archives are hidden in historical records. They present an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these relics, scientists aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being cleared.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with some more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like maybe concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting material after explosive extraction in different areas – because also the most destructive armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.