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

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats amid the weapons, forming a revitalized marine community more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed surprising how much life we find in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every meter squared of the weapons, experts reported in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that items that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, replacing some of the removed habitat. This research reveals that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals placed them in barges; some were placed in designated locations, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately documented, in part because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the reality that records are stored in old files. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries start clearing these relics, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being removed.

We should substitute these metal carcasses left from weapons with some safer, various safe structures, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.