Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous explosives have become matted together over the decades. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy 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 visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats amid the munitions, forming a regenerated habitat denser than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much life we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every meter squared of the weapons, experts documented in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This research reveals that munitions could be equally beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were deposited in allocated locations, others just dumped while traveling. This is the first time scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are usually scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently mapped, partially because of international boundaries, restricted armed forces records and the reality that records are stored in old files. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as risk from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these relics, experts aim to protect the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses remaining from weapons with some safer, various safe structures, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing material after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for new life.