World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes among the munitions, developing a revitalized ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the persistence of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists wrote in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are intended to kill everything are attracting so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation reveals that munitions could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of workers placed them in boats; some were deposited in specific locations, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially act as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of species that are usually rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, surrounding seas are often littered with explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently documented, in part because of international boundaries, restricted defense data and the fact that archives are stored in historical records. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as risk from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these relics, experts plan to safeguard the habitats that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with some less dangerous, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.