Nazi Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous munitions have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay 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 coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes among the explosives, forming a revitalized marine community denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation reveals that explosives could be equally advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in boats; a portion were placed in designated sites, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are usually strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are insufficiently recorded, in part because of national borders, restricted defense data and the reality that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the ongoing leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations embark on extracting these relics, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures left from munitions with some more secure, various harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for marine organisms.