World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a corroding carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

We initially thought to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had settled among the explosives, forming a regenerated habitat more populous than the seabed nearby.

This marine city was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he states.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were residing on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every square metre of the weapons, experts reported in their paper on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the removed habitat. This research demonstrates that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of workers placed them in barges; a portion were deposited in specific locations, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time experts have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are typically scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically strewn with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our marine environments.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently documented, partly because of national borders, restricted military information and the fact that documents are stored in historic archives. They pose an detonation and safety risk, as well as risk from the ongoing release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and different states begin removing these artifacts, researchers hope to preserve the habitats that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being cleared.

We should replace these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, some non-dangerous structures, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.