Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have accumulated over the years. They create a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled on the munitions, creating a renewed ecosystem richer than the seabed nearby.

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

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every square metre of the weapons, scientists wrote in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that items that are intended to eliminate all life are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This study reveals that weapons could be equally positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the German shoreline. Countless of individuals transported them in boats; some were placed in designated locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are often strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that documents are buried in historic archives. They present an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, experts hope to preserve the ecosystems that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some more secure, various harmless objects, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.