Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding layer on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed.

We initially thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had settled amid the weapons, creating a regenerated habitat more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their study on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that items that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in barges; some were deposited in allocated areas, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are often strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are poorly mapped, partially because of international boundaries, secret military information and the reality that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as risk from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations begin extracting these remains, experts plan to protect the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures left from munitions with certain less dangerous, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most harmful weaponry can become framework for ocean ecosystems.