World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless weapons have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Researchers anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes among the explosives, developing a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed surprising how much life we discover in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are meant to eliminate all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can create alternatives, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This investigation reveals that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of people placed them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated sites, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of marine species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are usually strewn with munitions, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our marine environments.

The sites of these weapons are insufficiently documented, partially because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the situation that documents are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations start removing these remains, experts hope to safeguard the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from munitions with some more secure, some safe structures, like maybe man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs 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 new life.