Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a rusting blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had established habitats on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of life. It is actually surprising how much life we find in places that are expected to be toxic and risky, he says.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists wrote in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are meant to destroy everything are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This research reveals that explosives could be equally positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Countless of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were placed in designated sites, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are often strewn with munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately recorded, partially because of international boundaries, classified military information and the reality that records are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these artifacts, experts hope to protect the habitats that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures left from munitions with some safer, various harmless materials, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most damaging weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.