Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They create a rusting carpet on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of marine animals had settled on the munitions, forming a renewed ecosystem denser than the seabed around it.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are considered hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, researchers reported in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most risky locations.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of people transported them in boats; some were placed in specific locations, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are often littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, partially because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the situation that archives are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations embark on extracting these relics, experts hope to safeguard the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with some less dangerous, various safe materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what occurs in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for new life.