World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have accumulated over the years. They create a corroding carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes amid the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we discover in areas that are considered toxic and harmful, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are intended to kill everything are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study demonstrates that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were deposited in allocated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites effectively function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are often containing explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the fact that archives are stored in historic archives. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations begin clearing these relics, scientists plan to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures left from munitions with certain safer, some harmless structures, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.