World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, thousands weapons have accumulated over the years. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

Some of us thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers thought they would find a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin remembers his team members exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Numerous of sea creatures had established habitats amid the munitions, forming a renewed ecosystem more populous than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of life. Truly remarkable how much life we discover in areas that are supposed to be toxic and risky, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists documented in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to kill everything are hosting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most risky places.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made constructions such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, restoring some of the removed habitat. This research shows that explosives could be comparably positive – 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 discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of workers placed them in boats; a portion were placed in specific areas, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time researchers have documented how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan in Guam

These places become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a many of marine species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are typically littered with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, secret armed forces records and the reality that records are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states begin clearing these artifacts, scientists plan to safeguard the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with certain safer, some safe materials, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most harmful armaments can become framework for marine organisms.