Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, thousands weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a great moment, he says.

Countless of ocean life had established habitats among the weapons, creating a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be toxic and harmful, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every square metre of the explosives, researchers documented in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, restoring some of the lost habitat. This study shows that munitions could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of people placed them in boats; a portion were placed in specific sites, others just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a numerous of organisms that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are often containing explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are poorly recorded, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the situation that documents are stored in historic archives. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as risk from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these remains, scientists aim to safeguard the marine communities that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains remaining from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.