Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a rusting layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he says.

Countless of ocean life had settled amid the explosives, developing a regenerated marine community more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in areas that are considered toxic and risky, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, scientists documented in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill everything are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This study shows that munitions could be similarly positive – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of munitions were discarded off the German coast. Countless of workers transported them in boats; some were placed in specific areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of organisms that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually littered with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are poorly recorded, in part because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the reality that records are buried in old files. They create an detonation and safety hazard, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations begin clearing these relics, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most harmful armaments can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.