World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They form a corroding blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had settled among the explosives, creating a renewed ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be hazardous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were living on iron containers, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their paper on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that things that are intended to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most dangerous areas.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's coast. Numerous of people loaded them in boats; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, others just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites practically function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere warfare has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are insufficiently documented, partly because of national borders, secret military information and the fact that archives are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations embark on extracting these remains, experts hope to preserve the habitats that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures left from munitions with some less dangerous, some safe materials, like possibly artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a example for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most damaging weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.