Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, thousands explosives have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Countless of sea creatures had made their homes among the weapons, developing a renewed ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the tenacity of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and harmful, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their study on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people placed them in barges; some were deposited in allocated areas, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically littered with explosives, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately recorded, in part because of sovereign limits, restricted armed forces records and the fact that archives are buried in old files. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and other countries start removing these remains, scientists plan to safeguard the marine communities that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some more secure, various safe objects, like possibly artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.