World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They create a decaying layer on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. It was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had established habitats among the weapons, creating a revitalized marine community richer than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are supposed to be toxic and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers reported in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are intended to kill everything are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most hazardous places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide replacements, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of arms were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of workers loaded them in barges; a portion were deposited in allocated locations, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the first time scientists have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are usually rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material rest in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are insufficiently documented, partially because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the fact that records are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and security hazard, as well as danger from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and other countries embark on clearing these artifacts, scientists plan to protect the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are presently being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some less dangerous, various non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He now hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most damaging weaponry can become foundation for new life.