Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Armaments
In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the LĂĽbeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.
Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.
Some of us thought to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.
When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.
What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.
Thousands of ocean life had established habitats amid the explosives, developing a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed surrounding it.
This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in places that are considered hazardous and risky, he says.
More than 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. 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 amount of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.
Surprising Creature Concentration
An average of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, researchers documented in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.
It is surprising that things that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most risky places.
Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments
Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This research shows that munitions could be similarly positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.
Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers placed them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time scientists have studied how ocean organisms has responded.
Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation
- In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into reef ecosystems
- Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
- Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island
These areas become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Future Considerations
Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are typically strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.
The positions of these explosives are poorly mapped, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that archives are stored in historical records. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.
As the German government and different states start clearing these relics, researchers aim to preserve the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the LĂĽbeck Bay explosives are currently being removed.
We should replace these metal carcasses originating from munitions with some less dangerous, some harmless objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.
He presently wishes that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after explosive extraction in different areas – because including the most destructive explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.