World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous munitions have accumulated over the years. They create a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had established habitats on the explosives, developing a revitalized habitat denser than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was testament to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we discover in areas that are expected to be toxic and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the explosives, experts reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to kill all life are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can create replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation shows that weapons could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were placed in specific locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the last century, adjacent waters are typically littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our marine environments.

The sites of these munitions are poorly recorded, partly because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the fact that documents are stored in old files. They create an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states start removing these artifacts, experts hope to preserve the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures left from munitions with some more secure, various non-dangerous materials, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for replacing structures after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.