World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous weapons have accumulated over the years. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a great moment, he recalls.

Thousands of sea creatures had settled amid the weapons, forming a revitalized ecosystem denser than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. Truly astonishing how much life we observe in areas that are considered toxic and harmful, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists documented in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to eliminate everything are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most risky locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This study shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the Germany's coast. Countless of people loaded them in vessels; a portion were dropped in specific locations, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. As a result a lot of organisms that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are usually strewn with explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds rest in our seas.

The locations of these explosives are poorly recorded, partly because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the reality that archives are buried in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety danger, as well as danger from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start removing these remains, experts aim to protect the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these iron structures left from weapons with some safer, some harmless materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most harmful armaments can become framework for marine organisms.