World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, thousands explosives have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons eroded.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, states the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the munitions, forming a regenerated habitat more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, researchers reported in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that weapons could be comparably beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of individuals placed them in boats; some were deposited in specific locations, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Wherever military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically containing explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the reality that archives are buried in old files. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries embark on removing these relics, researchers plan to protect the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being cleared.

We should substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with certain more secure, various non-dangerous materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most harmful explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.