Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the second world war and neglected, thousands munitions have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

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

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats on the weapons, creating a regenerated habitat denser than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was proof to the persistence of life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are intended to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation reveals that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in boats; a portion were placed in allocated sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partially because of sovereign limits, classified armed forces records and the situation that archives are hidden in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security danger, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states start removing these artifacts, scientists aim to protect the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

We should replace these steel remains left from munitions with certain less dangerous, various safe objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting habitats after munitions removal in different areas – because also the most destructive armaments can become framework for new life.