Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

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

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes amid the weapons, forming a renewed habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in areas that are expected to be dangerous and risky, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was present, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts reported in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to kill all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation reveals that explosives could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals placed them in barges; some were dropped in specific locations, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of organisms that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are often littered with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partially because of international boundaries, secret military information and the reality that records are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start removing these relics, researchers plan to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains left from weapons with some more secure, various harmless structures, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in Lübeck creates a model for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.