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

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous munitions have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin remembers his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Thousands of marine animals had settled among the explosives, forming a renewed marine community more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we find in places that are considered toxic and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their study on the finding. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that weapons could be similarly positive – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the German coast. Numerous of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in Guam

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations practically function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Wherever warfare has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, secret defense data and the reality that documents are buried in historic archives. They create an detonation and safety risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states begin removing these relics, researchers plan to safeguard the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses left from weapons with some more secure, various harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most harmful armaments can become framework for marine organisms.