Nazi Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a rusting carpet on the shallow, 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 neglected. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated habitat richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, researchers wrote in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to kill everything are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the German coast. Countless of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were dropped in specific locations, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are poorly documented, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted armed forces records and the situation that documents are buried in historic archives. They pose an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries embark on removing these remains, experts plan to preserve the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, various safe objects, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most harmful armaments can become foundation for marine organisms.