Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea 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 toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats on the explosives, forming a renewed marine community more populous than the seabed nearby.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we observe in locations that are expected to be dangerous and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This study shows that munitions could be similarly positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals placed them in vessels; a portion were placed in specific locations, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are usually containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partly because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that documents are buried in historical records. They create an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin removing these remains, scientists plan to protect the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being removed.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some less dangerous, some safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most destructive weaponry can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.