Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a rusting carpet on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us thought they would find a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor around it.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much life we observe in areas that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists wrote in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are intended to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide replacements, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This research demonstrates that weapons could be equally positive – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of workers transported them in vessels; some were placed in allocated sites, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are usually containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the situation that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security danger, as well as threat from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states embark on removing these relics, experts plan to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, various harmless objects, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing material after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most harmful armaments can become foundation for marine organisms.