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

In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, countless weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a corroding layer on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Numerous of marine animals had settled amid the munitions, developing a renewed ecosystem denser than the sea floor surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one visible piece of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every square metre of the explosives, researchers documented in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide replacements, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This research reveals that explosives could be comparably positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in vessels; some were dropped in specific locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, says Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are typically rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Wherever military conflict has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are typically littered with munitions, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds lie in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are poorly recorded, in part because of national borders, secret military information and the situation that archives are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states embark on removing these remains, experts aim to preserve the marine communities that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most damaging explosives can become framework for new life.