World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous munitions have accumulated over the years. They create a corroding blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recalls his team members shouting with surprise when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Countless of ocean life had settled among the explosives, developing a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the resilience of life. It is actually surprising how much life we find in locations that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he states.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that items that are meant to kill everything are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide replacements, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of people transported them in vessels; some were placed in specific areas, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of marine species that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Factors

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the recent history, surrounding seas are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are inadequately documented, partly because of national borders, restricted military information and the fact that records are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and safety danger, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, scientists hope to safeguard the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with some less dangerous, various non-dangerous structures, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a precedent for substituting structures after weapon clearance in different areas – because including the most destructive armaments can become scaffolding for marine organisms.