World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

Researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had settled among the explosives, developing a revitalized habitat denser than the seabed nearby.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers documented in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to kill everything are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This study reveals that munitions could be equally beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; some were dropped in allocated sites, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the first time scientists have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Considerations

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material rest in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are poorly mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states begin removing these relics, scientists hope to protect the marine communities that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses originating from weapons with some more secure, various safe objects, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.