World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had settled amid the munitions, forming a regenerated habitat denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was present, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to destroy all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide replacements, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that weapons could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were placed in specific areas, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are typically littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently mapped, partly because of national borders, restricted military information and the reality that documents are stored in historical records. They create an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations start clearing these artifacts, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with certain less dangerous, various harmless structures, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most destructive explosives can become scaffolding for new life.