Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the World War II and left behind, countless weapons have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a corroding layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us thought they would find a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. It was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had settled amid the explosives, forming a regenerated marine community richer than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much life we observe in places that are considered dangerous and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are meant to kill all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research shows that explosives could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Countless of individuals placed them in boats; some were dropped in allocated areas, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. As a result a many of species that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are inadequately documented, partly because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the situation that documents are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and different states begin clearing these relics, experts plan to protect the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

We should replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with certain less dangerous, some safe structures, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing material after munitions removal elsewhere – because even the most damaging weaponry can become framework for new life.