Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a corroding blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes among the munitions, creating a regenerated habitat denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in locations that are considered hazardous and risky, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the explosives, experts documented in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide substitutes, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Countless of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually containing explosives, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are poorly documented, in part because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the situation that records are stored in old files. They create an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations embark on clearing these artifacts, scientists plan to preserve the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, some harmless objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing material after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for new life.