World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had established habitats amid the explosives, developing a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in places that are considered toxic and risky, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study shows that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Thousands of individuals transported them in barges; a portion were placed in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever warfare has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The locations of these weapons are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the ongoing release of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states begin removing these relics, experts aim to preserve the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains left from weapons with some less dangerous, some non-dangerous structures, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what occurs in Lübeck creates a example for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for new life.