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

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have accumulated over the years. They comprise a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons decayed.

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

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the explosives, forming a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This ocean community was evidence to the resilience of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we observe in places that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had gathered on to one accessible fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the weapons, scientists reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that things that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much life, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most risky areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This research shows that munitions could be comparably positive – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people placed them in barges; some were placed in specific sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time scientists have studied how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially act as protected areas – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The positions of these munitions are inadequately documented, partially because of sovereign limits, classified armed forces records and the reality that records are hidden in historic archives. They present an detonation and security risk, as well as danger from the ongoing release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations embark on removing these remains, experts plan to safeguard the habitats that have established in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains remaining from weapons with some safer, some harmless objects, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what happens in Lübeck establishes a model for substituting habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.