Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have become matted together over the decades. They create a rusting carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking 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 poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, forming a regenerated ecosystem denser than the seabed nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are considered dangerous and risky, he states.

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

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the explosives, experts wrote in their paper on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to eliminate everything are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This study demonstrates that explosives could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were placed in allocated locations, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are poorly recorded, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the reality that archives are buried in historical records. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations begin clearing these remains, experts aim to preserve the ecosystems that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures originating from munitions with certain more secure, some safe objects, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal in different areas – because even the most damaging armaments can become framework for new life.