World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have accumulated over the years. They comprise a corroding layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he recalls.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes amid the explosives, forming a renewed marine community denser than the seabed nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, experts reported in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are intended to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be equally beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of workers transported them in vessels; some were placed in specific areas, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time researchers have documented how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are often strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the situation that archives are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states begin extracting these artifacts, experts aim to protect the ecosystems that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain safer, various harmless structures, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for substituting material after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most harmful weaponry can become framework for new life.