World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had settled among the munitions, creating a renewed habitat richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was testament to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are considered hazardous and harmful, he says.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are meant to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the German coast. Countless of people transported them in boats; some were dropped in designated locations, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are typically scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are often strewn with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are insufficiently documented, partially because of national borders, restricted military information and the fact that archives are stored in old files. They create an explosion and security hazard, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these artifacts, experts aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being extracted.

We should replace these iron structures left from munitions with some less dangerous, some safe structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a example for substituting structures after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for marine organisms.