World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a decaying layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of ocean life had settled on the explosives, creating a revitalized marine community more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of life. Indeed remarkable how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and harmful, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the weapons, experts wrote in their study on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are meant to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide replacements, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in designated sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are insufficiently mapped, in part because of sovereign limits, secret defense data and the fact that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries embark on removing these relics, scientists aim to preserve the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being cleared.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain less dangerous, some safe structures, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most destructive armaments can become scaffolding for new life.