World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Discarded Weapons

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, the team anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes on the explosives, developing a renewed marine community more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This ocean community was testament to the persistence of life. Truly surprising how much life we find in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he states.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, experts reported in their paper on the discovery. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to destroy everything are drawing so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Features as Ocean Environments

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide replacements, replacing some of the removed habitat. This study reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of people placed them in vessels; some were placed in specific sites, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time scientists have documented how marine life has responded.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the US, retired oil and gas structures have turned into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These locations become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise uncommon or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, nearby oceans are often strewn with munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances rest in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are poorly recorded, partly because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the fact that records are stored in old files. They present an explosion and security risk, as well as threat from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states begin extracting these remains, researchers hope to preserve the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these metal carcasses originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, some harmless materials, like perhaps man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what occurs in Lübeck establishes a example for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because also the most harmful explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.