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

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and neglected, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They create a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of sea creatures had made their homes on the weapons, forming a regenerated marine community more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be toxic and risky, he says.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists reported in their research on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide replacements, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be comparably advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of workers loaded them in boats; some were dropped in specific areas, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the first time scientists have documented how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a lot of organisms that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are poorly documented, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the situation that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an detonation and safety danger, as well as risk from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations begin removing these relics, experts plan to protect the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures originating from weapons with certain more secure, various non-dangerous objects, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most harmful explosives can become framework for ocean ecosystems.