Nazi Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had settled amid the weapons, creating a revitalized ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. Indeed surprising how much life we find in locations that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers documented in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to eliminate all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most hazardous locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, replacing some of the removed habitat. This research shows that explosives could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers placed them in vessels; a portion were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically function as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are often littered with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these weapons are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, classified military information and the situation that documents are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and security danger, as well as danger from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations begin clearing these relics, scientists aim to preserve the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures originating from weapons with certain safer, some non-dangerous materials, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for new life.