World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a decaying layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first sent the images back. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of marine animals had made their homes on the munitions, developing a revitalized marine community denser than the seabed nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every meter squared of the weapons, experts wrote in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide replacements, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation shows that munitions could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals transported them in vessels; some were placed in allocated locations, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time researchers have documented how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually strewn with munitions, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the fact that records are buried in historical records. They present an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these remains, researchers aim to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being extracted.

We should substitute these steel remains left from weapons with certain safer, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.