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

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast sits a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands weapons have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

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

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

What they found astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. That moment was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Thousands of sea creatures had made their homes among the weapons, developing a renewed habitat denser than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers documented in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are meant to destroy all life are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that explosives could be comparably positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were disposed of off the German shoreline. Countless of workers transported them in barges; some were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances rest in our oceans.

The positions of these munitions are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that records are hidden in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states embark on removing these relics, researchers plan to preserve the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.

We should substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with certain more secure, various safe objects, like possibly artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for replacing habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.