World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless munitions have accumulated over the years. They form a corroding blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of ocean life had made their homes amid the munitions, forming a renewed ecosystem richer than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are considered dangerous and dangerous, he states.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the munitions, researchers wrote in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study reveals that explosives could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of people transported them in barges; some were placed in allocated sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time researchers have studied how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever warfare has taken place in the last century, adjacent waters are usually littered with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of national borders, classified defense data and the reality that documents are hidden in historic archives. They present an explosion and safety danger, as well as risk from the continuous release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states start extracting these remains, researchers 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 steel remains left from weapons with certain less dangerous, some harmless objects, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.