Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands explosives have become matted together over the years. They create a decaying layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, forming a renewed habitat richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we find in places that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their research on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that munitions could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the German shoreline. Countless of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were dropped in allocated locations, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partially because of national borders, classified military information and the situation that documents are buried in old files. They present an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start extracting these artifacts, scientists hope to preserve the ecosystems that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from munitions with certain less dangerous, some harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for new life.