World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They create a rusting blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

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

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

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

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers documented in their study on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed habitat. This study reveals that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of individuals transported them in boats; some were deposited in designated areas, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a lot of species that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are poorly mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the situation that records are buried in historic archives. They pose an detonation and security danger, as well as risk from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin extracting these relics, scientists hope to safeguard the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain more secure, various safe objects, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting material after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most destructive weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.