Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the second world war and neglected, numerous munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a corroding blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a remarkable experience, he says.

Countless of marine animals had made their homes among the munitions, creating a revitalized marine community denser than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are considered hazardous and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are meant to eliminate everything are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer alternatives, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study demonstrates that explosives could be comparably advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the German coast. Numerous of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in allocated locations, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately mapped, in part because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the fact that documents are buried in historical records. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations begin removing these remains, researchers plan to preserve the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, some harmless materials, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a example for replacing habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most damaging weaponry can become foundation for new life.