World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, thousands weapons have become matted together over the years. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats among the explosives, forming a revitalized marine community more populous than the sea floor around it.

This ocean community was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are expected to be dangerous and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, scientists wrote in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research reveals that weapons could be similarly positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals transported them in barges; some were deposited in designated sites, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the first time experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are often strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are inadequately mapped, in part because of national borders, classified defense data and the reality that records are buried in historical records. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these remains, experts hope to safeguard the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some less dangerous, various safe objects, like maybe concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging weaponry can become framework for new life.