World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the second world war and neglected, numerous explosives have become matted together over the decades. They create a decaying carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had settled among the weapons, creating a renewed habitat richer than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was proof to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually surprising how much life we discover in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers documented in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most risky locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This research shows that munitions could be equally positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were disposed of off the German coast. Thousands of individuals placed them in vessels; a portion were deposited in designated areas, others just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes 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 marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are typically uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, secret defense data and the reality that archives are buried in historical records. They create an detonation and security hazard, as well as threat from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations begin extracting these artifacts, scientists plan to protect the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with certain more secure, various harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because even the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.