World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have fused into clusters over the years. They create a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had established habitats amid the weapons, developing a regenerated marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the old munitions. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to kill everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This research shows that munitions could be equally advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Numerous of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were placed in designated areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are often littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The sites of these munitions are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, restricted military information and the fact that records are buried in old files. They create an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states begin removing these relics, scientists plan to safeguard the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous materials, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because also the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.