World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous explosives have become matted together over the decades. They create a corroding carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

Researchers thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled on the munitions, creating a revitalized marine community denser than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was proof to the resilience of life. Truly astonishing how much life we discover in areas that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, experts documented in their study on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Countless of people transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically littered with explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are insufficiently recorded, partially because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the situation that records are hidden in historical records. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries start extracting these relics, scientists aim to preserve the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains remaining from weapons with some safer, various non-dangerous structures, like perhaps concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most damaging weaponry can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.