World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

We initially anticipated to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists shouting with surprise when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Numerous of marine animals had made their homes among the explosives, developing a revitalized habitat denser than the sea floor nearby.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one visible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was present, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were residing on every square metre of the munitions, scientists reported in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, replacing some of the lost habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German coast. Countless of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were deposited in specific areas, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Consequently a lot of organisms that are usually rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are often containing munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately documented, partly because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the reality that records are buried in historic archives. They present an detonation and security risk, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries start removing these remains, researchers plan to safeguard the marine communities that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures left from weapons with certain more secure, various harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most damaging weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.