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2h ago

New Studies Find Marine Life Thriving on Toxic WWII Munitions and the Ghost Fleet

Researchers report dense colonization on Baltic V-1 warheads despite TNT and RDX contamination at levels up to 2.7 mg/L.

Examples of the species identified from the ROV videos.
Footage captured by a submersible of starfish on the exposed TNT of an unexploded Nazi bomb at the bottom of the Baltic Sea
Image
Novel, human-influenced habitats form where the wrecks of the “Ghost Fleet” meet. Here, the Alpaco and Buckhorn rest end-to-end.

Overview

  • In Communications Earth & Environment, scientists counted about 43,000 organisms per square meter on Lübeck Bay warheads versus roughly 8,200 per square meter in surrounding sediment.
  • An October 2024 ROV survey identified the objects as V-1 flying bomb warheads and measured explosive compounds from 30 ng/L to 2.7 mg/L, concentrations estimated near lethal thresholds for marine life.
  • Organisms clustered on metal casings rather than exposed explosive material, with one recorded scene showing more than 40 starfish piled on a chunk of TNT.
  • Authors say the munitions now function as scarce hard substrate in a largely soft-bottom Baltic Sea and recommend removing them and substituting non-toxic artificial structures.
  • Researchers plan time-lapse monitoring at the Lübeck Bay site next month, while a separate Scientific Data study mapped 147 Mallows Bay wrecks to support ecological and archaeological work.