🔗 Share this article Nazi Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Armaments In the brackish waters off the German shoreline sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They form a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic. Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated. Researchers thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls. Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes among the munitions, developing a regenerated marine community more populous than the ocean bottom surrounding it. This marine city was testament to the persistence of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states. More than 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin. Remarkable Population Density An average of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared. It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to eliminate all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous places. Artificial Features as Marine Habitats Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere. Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; some were placed in designated locations, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how marine life has reacted. Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have become reef ecosystems Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac 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 crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing. Future Issues Wherever warfare has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material lie in our marine environments. The locations of these weapons are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that archives are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of poisonous compounds. As Germany and additional nations start removing these remains, scientists hope to protect the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being cleared. It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with certain less dangerous, some harmless objects, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin. He now wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing material after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.
In the brackish waters off the German shoreline sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They form a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic. Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated. Researchers thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls. Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes among the munitions, developing a regenerated marine community more populous than the ocean bottom surrounding it. This marine city was testament to the persistence of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states. More than 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin. Remarkable Population Density An average of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared. It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to eliminate all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous places. Artificial Features as Marine Habitats Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere. Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; some were placed in designated locations, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how marine life has reacted. Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have become reef ecosystems Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac 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 crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing. Future Issues Wherever warfare has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material lie in our marine environments. The locations of these weapons are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that archives are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of poisonous compounds. As Germany and additional nations start removing these remains, scientists hope to protect the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being cleared. It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with certain less dangerous, some harmless objects, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin. He now wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing material after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.