World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Researchers anticipated to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

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

Numerous of ocean life had settled among the munitions, forming a revitalized habitat denser than the sea floor around it.

This ocean community was proof to the persistence of life. Truly astonishing how much marine organisms we find in areas that are considered hazardous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every square metre of the weapons, scientists reported in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are intended to eliminate all life are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This research 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 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of individuals loaded them in barges; some were deposited in designated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Issues

Anywhere warfare has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically containing munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are stored in historical records. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the ongoing leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations start extracting these artifacts, experts plan to protect the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being cleared.

We should substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting material after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most damaging explosives can become framework for new life.