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

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and neglected, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

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

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the weapons, creating a renewed habitat more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in locations that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers reported in their study on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation reveals that weapons could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were discarded off the Germany's coast. Numerous of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are often strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these weapons are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, secret defense data and the fact that records are stored in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations start extracting these relics, researchers plan to protect the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

We should substitute these iron structures left from weapons with some less dangerous, some harmless objects, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a example for replacing habitats after munitions removal in different areas – because also the most destructive explosives can become foundation for new life.