World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

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

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes amid the explosives, forming a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much life we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, scientists documented in their research on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are intended to destroy everything are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This research demonstrates that explosives could be similarly positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Countless of people placed them in boats; some were placed in specific locations, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, retired oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Issues

Wherever warfare has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The sites of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partially because of national borders, secret defense data and the fact that records are stored in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as danger from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations embark on removing these artifacts, experts plan to safeguard the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being removed.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures left from munitions with some more secure, various safe structures, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most destructive armaments can become foundation for marine organisms.