World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes among the explosives, developing a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor surrounding it.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in areas that are considered dangerous and harmful, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had gathered on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were residing on every square metre of the weapons, scientists reported in their paper on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to eliminate all life are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, restoring some of the lost habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be comparably positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; some were deposited in specific locations, others just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively act as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of species that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Wherever military conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, partially because of national borders, classified armed forces records and the situation that records are hidden in historical records. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as risk from the persistent leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states start extracting these artifacts, researchers aim to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.

We should replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with some more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a model for substituting habitats after weapon clearance in different areas – because even the most destructive armaments can become foundation for new life.