World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the weapons deteriorated.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats on the weapons, developing a revitalized ecosystem denser than the sea floor around it.

This marine city was testament to the persistence of marine life. Truly remarkable how much life we discover in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were residing on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made features such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This research demonstrates that explosives could be equally beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were discarded off the Germany's coast. Thousands of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were dropped in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time scientists have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Future Factors

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are often strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The positions of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of international boundaries, classified armed forces records and the fact that archives are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and safety hazard, as well as threat from the continuous release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start extracting these relics, scientists aim to safeguard the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

It would be wise to replace these metal carcasses left from munitions with some less dangerous, some safe objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for substituting material after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most harmful armaments can become scaffolding for new life.