World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, thousands explosives have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

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

Countless of marine animals had established habitats amid the explosives, creating a renewed marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and harmful, he states.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that items that are intended to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation shows that munitions could be equally positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Countless of people transported them in vessels; a portion were dropped in designated locations, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually containing weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are inadequately recorded, partially because of international boundaries, secret military information and the reality that records are hidden in historical records. They present an explosion and safety risk, as well as danger from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations embark on extracting these artifacts, scientists hope to safeguard the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being cleared.

We should replace these metal carcasses remaining from weapons with certain less dangerous, various safe structures, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.