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

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, thousands explosives have fused into clusters over the years. They create a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

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

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had settled on the explosives, developing a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we discover in locations that are considered hazardous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to kill all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were discarded off the German shoreline. Countless of people loaded them in boats; some were deposited in designated areas, others just dumped en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately mapped, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states embark on clearing these artifacts, researchers aim to protect the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, various safe structures, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most harmful armaments can become framework for new life.