🔗 Share this article Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Armaments In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic. Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated. Some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher. When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes. Thousands of marine animals had established habitats among the munitions, developing a regenerated habitat denser than the seabed nearby. This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he says. Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin. Remarkable Creature Concentration An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the munitions, researchers reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared. It is ironic that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous locations. Artificial Features as Marine Environments Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be comparably positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in different areas. Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of individuals loaded them in boats; some were deposited in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted. Global Examples of Marine Adaptation In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering. Future Considerations Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are usually strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our oceans. The positions of these weapons are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, classified defense data and the fact that records are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and security danger, as well as risk from the ongoing release of hazardous substances. As Germany and other countries begin clearing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being removed. Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin. He presently hopes that what happens in Lübeck sets a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.
In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic. Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated. Some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher. When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes. Thousands of marine animals had established habitats among the munitions, developing a regenerated habitat denser than the seabed nearby. This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he says. Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin. Remarkable Creature Concentration An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the munitions, researchers reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared. It is ironic that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous locations. Artificial Features as Marine Environments Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be comparably positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in different areas. Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of individuals loaded them in boats; some were deposited in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted. Global Examples of Marine Adaptation In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering. Future Considerations Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are usually strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our oceans. The positions of these weapons are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, classified defense data and the fact that records are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and security danger, as well as risk from the ongoing release of hazardous substances. As Germany and other countries begin clearing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being removed. Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin. He presently hopes that what happens in Lübeck sets a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.