World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German coast lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous explosives have become matted together over the decades. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Researchers anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he recalls.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats among the explosives, creating a regenerated marine community denser than the seabed nearby.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of marine life. Truly surprising how much life we observe in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers reported in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to kill all life are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This study shows that explosives could be comparably positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were disposed of off the German shoreline. Thousands of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated sites, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time scientists have studied how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired energy installations have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a numerous of species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are usually containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are inadequately documented, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the fact that records are buried in historic archives. They pose an detonation and security danger, as well as threat from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries start clearing these remains, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being cleared.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain safer, some safe materials, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a model for replacing material after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most destructive armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.