Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands weapons have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

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

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had established habitats on the weapons, forming a revitalized marine community more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are considered toxic and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This study reveals that explosives could be similarly positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were dumped off the German coast. Countless of people transported them in vessels; a portion were dropped in specific sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are typically rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the situation that records are buried in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these artifacts, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting material after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most damaging weaponry can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.