World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless weapons have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a corroding layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, developing a renewed habitat richer than the sea floor surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of marine life. Truly surprising how much life we discover in areas that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This research shows that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were discarded off the Germany's coast. Countless of people transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in specific areas, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically strewn with explosives, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately recorded, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that documents are buried in old files. They present an detonation and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, experts plan to preserve the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from munitions with some safer, various harmless objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal in different areas – because even the most harmful explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.