World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

We initially expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats amid the weapons, forming a revitalized habitat more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. Truly astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of animal life that was present, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every square metre of the munitions, researchers wrote in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to kill all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This research demonstrates that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals transported them in barges; some were placed in designated sites, others just dumped during transport. This is the first time researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are often containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The positions of these weapons are poorly recorded, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the fact that archives are stored in old files. They present an detonation and safety danger, as well as danger from the persistent emission of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these remains, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from munitions with certain safer, some harmless structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most destructive armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.