Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats on the weapons, creating a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we find in locations that are considered dangerous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists wrote in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are meant to destroy all life are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer substitutes, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that munitions could be comparably beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in barges; some were dropped in specific areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, classified armed forces records and the reality that archives are buried in historical records. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states embark on removing these artifacts, researchers hope to safeguard the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with some safer, various non-dangerous materials, like maybe artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most destructive armaments can become foundation for new life.