Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless munitions have accumulated over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Researchers anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had settled among the munitions, forming a regenerated ecosystem denser than the seabed nearby.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are considered dangerous and risky, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This study demonstrates that weapons could be equally beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's coast. Numerous of people transported them in boats; some were deposited in designated locations, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are poorly documented, partially because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the fact that documents are stored in historical records. They create an explosion and security hazard, as well as threat from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries start extracting these remains, experts hope to safeguard the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains remaining from munitions with some safer, various harmless objects, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most damaging explosives can become framework for marine organisms.