World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless weapons have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of ocean life had established habitats on the munitions, forming a revitalized marine community more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of marine life. It is actually surprising how much life we discover in places that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he states.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers documented in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that items that are intended to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most risky places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can offer substitutes, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation shows that weapons could be equally positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were discarded off the German shoreline. Countless of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were deposited in designated sites, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the first time scientists have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically scarce or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are typically containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately documented, in part because of sovereign limits, secret armed forces records and the fact that documents are stored in historic archives. They present an detonation and safety hazard, as well as threat from the ongoing leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and different states begin extracting these artifacts, researchers aim to preserve the marine communities that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures remaining from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like possibly artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what happens in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because also the most damaging weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.