World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, thousands munitions have accumulated over the years. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes on the weapons, developing a renewed habitat more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much life we find in areas that are considered dangerous and harmful, he says.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was present, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

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

It is ironic that objects that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the Germany's coast. Countless of people transported them in vessels; some were dropped in allocated sites, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a lot of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically containing explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately recorded, in part because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are buried in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and other countries begin removing these relics, scientists plan to protect the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with some less dangerous, various safe structures, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because including the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.