World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

Researchers anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes amid the explosives, developing a revitalized ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to kill all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of workers placed them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time experts have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these explosives are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, classified defense data and the situation that records are buried in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these relics, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous materials, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.