Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats on the weapons, forming a renewed marine community more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are considered toxic and dangerous, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every square metre of the munitions, researchers documented in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, replacing some of the removed habitat. This research shows that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were dropped in designated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are usually littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are inadequately mapped, in part because of international boundaries, restricted defense data and the fact that documents are stored in historical records. They create an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these relics, scientists aim to preserve the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains originating from munitions with certain safer, various harmless materials, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in Lübeck creates a model for substituting structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most damaging weaponry can become scaffolding for new life.