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

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats amid the munitions, forming a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of life. It is actually surprising how much life we discover in places that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every meter squared of the munitions, experts reported in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most risky places.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This investigation shows that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the German shoreline. Thousands of people placed them in boats; some were deposited in allocated areas, others just dumped en route. This is the first time researchers have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are typically rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically strewn with weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately mapped, partially because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the fact that archives are buried in historical records. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these artifacts, experts hope to preserve the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures originating from munitions with certain more secure, some safe objects, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for marine organisms.