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

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, countless weapons have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Researchers anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had made their homes on the weapons, developing a renewed marine community denser than the sea floor around it.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in places that are expected to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are designed to eliminate all life are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation shows that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of workers transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in specific sites, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are usually littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are inadequately mapped, partially because of national borders, classified military information and the situation that records are hidden in historic archives. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations embark on clearing these remains, scientists plan to preserve the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being removed.

We should substitute these iron structures originating from weapons with some less dangerous, various harmless materials, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.