Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats among the explosives, creating a regenerated marine community more populous than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, experts reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are meant to kill all life are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the lost habitat. This study demonstrates that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers transported them in vessels; a portion were placed in allocated areas, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are typically containing munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, partly because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the situation that archives are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, experts plan to preserve the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses remaining from weapons with certain less dangerous, various safe structures, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for replacing structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.