Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands explosives have become matted together over the years. They create a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats among the weapons, forming a revitalized habitat richer than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the persistence of life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be toxic and risky, he states.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, researchers wrote in their research on the observation. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to eliminate everything are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This research shows that weapons could be equally positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in allocated sites, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more important for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently documented, partially because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states embark on removing these relics, experts aim to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being extracted.

We should replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with some safer, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most destructive weaponry can become scaffolding for new life.