Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous explosives have become matted together over the years. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Countless of marine animals had made their homes among the explosives, forming a regenerated marine community more populous than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually surprising how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This investigation shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of workers placed them in vessels; some were deposited in allocated sites, others just dumped en route. This is the first time scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually containing weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately mapped, in part because of sovereign limits, secret armed forces records and the situation that records are stored in historical records. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as threat from the continuous release of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on removing these relics, experts aim to preserve the marine communities that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains left from munitions with some safer, some safe structures, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.