World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands weapons have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

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

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, creating a revitalized marine community more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we discover in locations that are considered hazardous and risky, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was present, states Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers wrote in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are intended to kill all life are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research shows that weapons could be similarly positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of arms were dumped off the German coast. Countless of workers placed them in vessels; some were deposited in specific sites, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations effectively function as protected areas – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are usually littered with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are poorly documented, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted defense data and the fact that archives are hidden in historical records. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations embark on extracting these remains, experts hope to preserve the habitats that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures left from munitions with some safer, various non-dangerous objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most destructive weaponry can become framework for ocean ecosystems.