Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and left behind, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding layer on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats on the weapons, forming a revitalized habitat denser than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are intended to kill everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers placed them in boats; a portion were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the first time experts have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually containing explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the reality that records are buried in historic archives. They present an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries begin extracting these remains, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being extracted.

We should substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with some safer, some harmless objects, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting structures after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most destructive explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.