World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a decaying layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of ocean life had established habitats among the weapons, creating a regenerated marine community more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers wrote in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are intended to destroy all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This investigation reveals that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific locations, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, secret defense data and the situation that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an detonation and safety danger, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these relics, scientists plan to protect the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with some safer, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most destructive armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.