Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They create a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he says.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes among the explosives, developing a regenerated habitat more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts reported in their study on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to eliminate all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be equally positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; a portion were dropped in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance experts have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere warfare has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are usually containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately documented, in part because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the fact that archives are hidden in historical records. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries start removing these relics, experts hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from weapons with some less dangerous, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for new life.