World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, countless explosives have become matted together over the decades. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the ROV first transmitted footage. That moment was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the munitions, forming a revitalized ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the tenacity of life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in places that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are meant to destroy all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that munitions could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of individuals placed them in barges; some were placed in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the recent history, nearby oceans are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partially because of national borders, restricted defense data and the reality that archives are hidden in historic archives. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states embark on extracting these artifacts, scientists plan to protect the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with some safer, some harmless structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most harmful weaponry can become framework for new life.