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Life Springs Forth: Marine Creatures Transform Sunken Nazi Bombs into Thriving Habitats
Luebeck Bay, Germany – In a truly unexpected turn, marine life is flourishing on unexploded Nazi bombs resting silently at the bottom of a German bay, a discovery brought to light by an unmanned submersible that even captured footage of starfish navigating chunks of TNT.
The remarkable finding, detailed in a study published Thursday, was described as “one of those rare but remarkable eureka moments” by marine biologist Andrey Vedenin. It underscores nature’s surprising ability to adapt and thrive even in the most perilous environments.
Germany’s coastal waters are estimated to harbor a staggering 1.6 million tons of unexploded munitions, remnants of both World Wars. Last October, a team of German scientists dispatched a submersible to a previously uncharted dump site in the Baltic Sea’s Luebeck Bay.
Descending 20 meters to the seafloor, the team was first surprised to find 10 Nazi-era cruise missiles. Their astonishment grew when the footage revealed an abundance of animals covering the deadly weapons.
Scientists reported in the journal Communications Earth & Environment that approximately 40,000 animals per square meter, primarily marine worms, were found living on the munitions. The study noted “dense populations of algae, hydroids, mussels, and other epifauna on the munition objects, including mines, torpedo heads, bombs, and wooden crates,” despite the potential toxic effects of the explosive compounds. Researchers also identified three species of fish, a crab, sea anemones, hydroids (a jellyfish relative), and numerous starfish.
While most creatures adhered to the hard casings of the bombs, avoiding the yellow explosive material, one peculiar exception emerged: more than 40 starfish were observed piled onto an exposed chunk of TNT. Lead author Vedenin, a scientist at Germany’s Carl von Ossietzky University, remarked, “It looked really weird.” Though the exact reason for the starfish gathering remains unclear, Vedenin theorizes they might be consuming a bacterial film accumulating on the corroding TNT.
The explosive chemicals are highly toxic, yet the marine inhabitants appear to have found a way to coexist with them. Aside from the seemingly “death-wish” starfish, other animals, such as crabs, showed no strange behavior, simply “sitting and picking something with their claws,” Vedenin observed.
To identify the ordnance, Vedenin consulted an old Nazi air force Luftwaffe manual, which detailed the handling and storage of V-1 flying bombs. The images from the submersible perfectly matched the descriptions of these infamous cruise missiles.
Vedenin acknowledged the poignant “irony” of the discovery: “things that are meant to kill everything are now attracting so much life.” He drew parallels to how wildlife, like deer, now flourishes in areas near the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, abandoned by humans.
For marine life, hard surfaces on the seafloor are crucial, offering an alternative to muddy and sandy bottoms. Historically, the Baltic Sea was rich in such surfaces from large boulders, but many were removed in the early 20th century for construction. Consequently, researchers advocate for the placement of more stones or concrete structures to continue supporting sea life once these hazardous bombs are eventually cleared from the bay.
The scientific team plans to return to the site next month to install a time-lapse camera, hoping to capture more insights into the starfish’s curious activities.
This finding adds to a growing body of evidence showcasing nature’s resilience in polluted environments. Previous studies have documented shipwrecks and former weapons complexes teeming with biodiversity. Marine conservation biologist David Johnston of Duke University, who has mapped sunken World War I ships now serving as wildlife habitats along Maryland’s Potomac River, called such discoveries “a really cool testimony to the strength of life.”
A 2023 paper in BioScience highlighted how shipwrecks provide vital ecological resources for a vast array of organisms. According to NOAA, “Small fish and mobile crustaceans often find shelter in the crevices of the sunken material, and larger baitfish and predators use shipwrecks as feeding grounds and rest stops.”
This year, a cargo ship submerged off the Belgian coast was intentionally populated with rare flat oysters, aiming to bolster other marine species. These examples collectively illustrate how nature cleverly reclaims and repurposes human remnants, transforming objects of destruction into unexpected havens for life.