World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding layer on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had established habitats among the munitions, creating a revitalized ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we observe in locations that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every square metre of the explosives, scientists wrote in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are meant to eliminate all life are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This study shows that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of arms were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of people placed them in boats; a portion were placed in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time scientists have documented how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever warfare has happened in the last century, nearby oceans are typically strewn with explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material rest in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are poorly mapped, in part because of international boundaries, secret defense data and the situation that archives are stored in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations embark on removing these artifacts, scientists plan to preserve the marine communities that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with certain safer, some harmless structures, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for new life.