Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast rests a graveyard 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 munitions have become matted together over the decades. They create a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us anticipated to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had settled among the munitions, forming a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much life we discover in areas that are considered dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, experts wrote in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that explosives could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Countless of people placed them in boats; a portion were placed in designated locations, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• 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 home to coral off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites effectively serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Wherever military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately recorded, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They create an explosion and safety risk, as well as danger from the persistent emission of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and different states begin extracting these remains, researchers hope to safeguard the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from munitions with some safer, various safe materials, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for replacing material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.