World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous weapons have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes among the weapons, creating a renewed habitat denser than the seabed surrounding it.

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

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, scientists documented in their research on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that munitions could be similarly positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Numerous of workers transported them in boats; some were dropped in designated locations, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are often strewn with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately recorded, in part because of national borders, secret defense data and the fact that records are hidden in old files. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations start removing these relics, researchers plan to preserve the marine communities that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures originating from weapons with certain more secure, some safe objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting structures after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most harmful armaments can become foundation for marine organisms.