World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, thousands explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a rusting blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part 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 deteriorated.

Some of us thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats on the explosives, developing a revitalized habitat denser than the sea floor surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the persistence of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are expected to be dangerous and harmful, he states.

More than 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, experts wrote in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create alternatives, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be equally advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers placed them in barges; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically act as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Wherever warfare has happened in the last century, nearby oceans are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, in part because of international boundaries, restricted armed forces records and the reality that archives are buried in historical records. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as threat from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations embark on extracting these remains, experts hope to safeguard the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being extracted.

We should replace these steel remains left from munitions with certain less dangerous, various safe objects, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because also the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.