World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

Researchers expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled among the explosives, developing a renewed ecosystem more populous than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he states.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are intended to eliminate all life are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This study reveals that weapons could be comparably positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in specific sites, the remainder just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially act as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are typically littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, classified military information and the reality that documents are buried in old files. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these remains, scientists plan to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some less dangerous, various non-dangerous structures, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing structures after munitions removal in different areas – because even the most destructive armaments can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.