World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding carpet on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Thousands of sea creatures had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated marine community denser than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was proof to the resilience of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are considered hazardous and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers reported in their paper on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are intended to kill all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This research shows that explosives could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in boats; some were deposited in allocated areas, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired oil and gas structures have turned into marine habitats
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks 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 denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites practically function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are typically strewn with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, classified military information and the situation that archives are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations begin clearing these relics, researchers aim to safeguard the ecosystems that have established in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being removed.

We should replace these iron structures left from munitions with some more secure, some safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing material after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most damaging armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.