World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, countless weapons have become matted together over the years. They comprise a decaying layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of sea creatures had settled on the explosives, developing a revitalized marine community richer than the seabed surrounding it.

This ocean community was proof to the resilience of life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and harmful, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one visible piece of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the quantity of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the weapons, scientists documented in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and pipelines can provide alternatives, restoring some of the lost habitat. This study shows that munitions could be equally beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of individuals transported them in boats; a portion were deposited in designated areas, others just discarded at sea en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have turned into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are otherwise scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately documented, partially because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the fact that archives are hidden in old files. They present an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations embark on clearing these remains, scientists plan to preserve the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being cleared.

Researchers recommend replace these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, various harmless objects, like perhaps concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after explosive extraction elsewhere – because even the most harmful explosives can become foundation for new life.