Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Armaments
In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They create a corroding layer on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.
Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.
Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.
When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.
What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a great moment, he notes.
Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, creating a renewed habitat more populous than the seabed nearby.
This marine city was proof to the persistence of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we observe in places that are considered toxic and dangerous, he explains.
Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.
Unexpected Population Density
An mean of more than forty thousand animals were living on every square metre of the explosives, experts reported in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.
It is surprising that things that are designed to eliminate all life are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.
Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats
Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can create substitutes, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be comparably positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.
Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of workers loaded them in boats; some were deposited in designated locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time researchers have studied how marine life has responded.
Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation
- In the United States, retired energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
- Submerged vessels 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 home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island
These locations become even more important for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Coming Factors
Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are often containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.
The sites of these explosives are inadequately mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.
As the German government and additional nations begin extracting these remains, experts aim to protect the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being cleared.
We should replace these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, some harmless structures, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.
He presently wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most harmful weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.