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

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless explosives have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, developing a renewed marine community denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much life we observe in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every meter squared of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to eliminate all life are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This study shows that weapons could be equally positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of individuals placed them in vessels; a portion were placed in designated locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are typically rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Issues

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partly because of sovereign limits, secret armed forces records and the fact that records are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and safety danger, as well as risk from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations start extracting these relics, scientists aim to protect the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

We should substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, various safe objects, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most destructive explosives can become foundation for new life.