Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They create a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled among the munitions, creating a renewed marine community richer than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that items that are designed to kill all life are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research shows that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Numerous of workers transported them in vessels; some were placed in specific locations, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Wherever military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are often strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are inadequately documented, partially because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the fact that documents are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the persistent release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations embark on clearing these remains, researchers plan to preserve the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains left from weapons with certain less dangerous, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for substituting material after explosive extraction elsewhere – because even the most destructive armaments can become foundation for new life.