World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, numerous weapons have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the explosives, forming a revitalized marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we find in places that are considered dangerous and risky, he states.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, experts documented in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are designed to eliminate all life are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study demonstrates that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in boats; some were placed in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. Therefore a lot of marine species that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are typically littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They pose an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states begin removing these relics, researchers aim to protect the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being removed.

We should substitute these iron structures left from munitions with certain safer, various safe structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.