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

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had settled on the weapons, creating a regenerated habitat more populous than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was testament to the resilience of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every square metre of the explosives, experts reported in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to kill all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the destroyed marine environment. This study reveals that explosives could be equally beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are typically rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The sites of these explosives are poorly mapped, partially because of international boundaries, restricted defense data and the reality that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an detonation and safety hazard, as well as risk from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states begin removing these remains, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being extracted.

We should substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some safer, some safe objects, like maybe concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for new life.