Unexploded ordnance from the last world war are still a problem all over Germany and specialists have to dispose them on a regular basis. What many people do not know is that this is not only a problem on land, but also at sea. By the end of the war, an estimated amount of 1.6 million tons was dumped into the North Sea and the Baltic Ocean. Over the last decades, this ammunition started to decay and pollute the water – posing a big threat to the maritime ecosystem and the people living in these areas. To address this challenge, the DLR is running a large-scale project, combining the expertise of several institutes to demonstrate the safe and automatized clearance of these sites.

We are contributing to this goal by using quantum magnetometers that are integrated in autonomous underwater vehicles. This allows us to detect the magnetic signatures of the unexploded ordnance even when the they are hidden below sediments.

The progress of the project was showcased at the MARESEC26, an international conference in Bremerhaven. For more information can be found in this conference paper.