World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, countless munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck 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 sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin remembers his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a memorable occasion, he says.

Thousands of ocean life had settled amid the munitions, forming a revitalized ecosystem denser than the sea floor surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the persistence of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in places that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and carrying containers just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance 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 munitions, researchers documented in their research on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of people placed them in boats; some were deposited in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are usually scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Wherever military conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds lie in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are poorly recorded, in part because of sovereign limits, classified military information and the fact that documents are stored in old files. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these relics, scientists hope to protect the ecosystems that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains left from munitions with certain more secure, some safe materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in different areas – because also the most destructive explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.