World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They create a rusting blanket on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. It was a great moment, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes among the munitions, forming a renewed marine community more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers documented in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This research demonstrates that weapons could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in barges; some were dropped in designated locations, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are usually strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the situation that documents are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these relics, researchers hope to protect the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains originating from munitions with some safer, various safe objects, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.