World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of ocean life had settled on the explosives, developing a revitalized marine community more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This marine city was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much life we discover in locations that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, scientists documented in their study on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are meant to destroy everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This study reveals that munitions could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people loaded them in barges; some were dropped in designated areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time researchers have studied how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are otherwise scarce or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our seas.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the situation that documents are hidden in historical records. They pose an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states begin extracting these relics, experts hope to safeguard the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from weapons with certain more secure, some safe objects, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now hopes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a example for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most damaging armaments can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.