World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's shoreline sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, countless munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons deteriorated.

Researchers thought to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Thousands of sea creatures had established habitats among the munitions, developing a revitalized ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. Truly surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are considered dangerous and dangerous, he says.

Over 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all found on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists documented in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are intended to kill all life are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This research demonstrates that weapons could be comparably positive – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be duplicated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of people placed them in boats; some were dropped in allocated areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance experts have studied how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively function as refuges – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of species that are typically scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are typically strewn with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are poorly documented, partially because of national borders, classified defense data and the fact that archives are hidden in old files. They present an detonation and safety hazard, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and additional nations embark on removing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have established around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being removed.

We should replace these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with certain more secure, some harmless structures, like possibly man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what happens in Lübeck establishes a example for replacing material after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most destructive explosives can become framework for new life.