World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They form a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he says.

Countless of marine animals had established habitats among the munitions, forming a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the seabed nearby.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we observe in areas that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he states.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed piece of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their paper on the discovery. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that items that are meant to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that explosives could be similarly positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were disposed of off the German coast. Countless of people placed them in barges; some were deposited in specific sites, the remainder just discarded at sea en route. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, retired drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more important for organisms as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Wherever warfare has taken place in the last century, surrounding seas are usually containing munitions, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the reality that archives are buried in historic archives. They create an explosion and security hazard, as well as threat from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations embark on removing these artifacts, experts hope to safeguard the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being extracted.

It would be wise to replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with certain safer, various safe objects, like maybe artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for replacing structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because including the most destructive explosives can become framework for new life.