World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, countless weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Countless of marine animals had established habitats on the weapons, developing a renewed ecosystem more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we discover in locations that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was present, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were living on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists wrote in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are meant to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create alternatives, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This research shows that weapons could be comparably beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Countless of individuals loaded them in vessels; a portion were placed in allocated sites, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are typically rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are typically littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are insufficiently recorded, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the fact that records are buried in old files. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states embark on clearing these remains, experts plan to safeguard the habitats that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

We should substitute these iron structures left from weapons with certain more secure, some harmless objects, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing material after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.