In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They comprise a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.
Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.
Some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.
When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.
What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he says.
Countless of sea creatures had established habitats among the munitions, forming a regenerated marine community more populous than the sea floor around it.
This ocean community was testament to the resilience of life. Indeed surprising how much life we observe in areas that are considered toxic and risky, he says.
More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.
An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, experts wrote in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.
It is ironic that items that are meant to kill all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky locations.
Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide replacements, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation reveals that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in different areas.
Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of individuals transported them in boats; some were placed in specific locations, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.
These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites effectively function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material rest in our marine environments.
The locations of these explosives are poorly documented, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the reality that archives are hidden in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as danger from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.
As the German government and different states start clearing these remains, scientists aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.
We should replace these iron structures originating from munitions with some less dangerous, various safe objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.
He currently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because also the most damaging weaponry can become foundation for new life.
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