World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of ocean life had settled among the weapons, forming a renewed habitat more populous than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the resilience of life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we find in places that are expected to be dangerous and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are intended to eliminate all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation reveals that explosives could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were discarded off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in barges; a portion were deposited in allocated areas, others just dumped during transport. This is the first time scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately documented, partly because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that records are hidden in old files. They create an explosion and security danger, as well as risk from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states embark on clearing these remains, experts plan to protect the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being extracted.

We should replace these steel remains originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most destructive weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.