Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, countless munitions have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the explosives, creating a regenerated habitat more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we discover in places that are considered toxic and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the weapons, experts wrote in their research on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to eliminate all life are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific locations, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time experts have documented how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Wherever warfare has occurred in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are poorly documented, partly because of sovereign limits, classified armed forces records and the fact that records are buried in historical records. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as risk from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and other countries start removing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains left from munitions with certain more secure, various non-dangerous materials, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most harmful explosives can become framework for new life.