World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline lies a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands munitions have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the weapons eroded.

Researchers expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

When the team went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. This was a great moment, he says.

Countless of marine animals had settled amid the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem richer than the seabed surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually surprising how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were residing on every square metre of the weapons, experts documented in their study on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are meant to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, replacing some of the removed habitat. This investigation reveals that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals loaded them in boats; a portion were dropped in designated locations, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Examples of Marine Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These locations become even more valuable for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of marine species that are usually uncommon or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are typically strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.

The sites of these explosives are inadequately mapped, in part because of sovereign limits, secret military information and the situation that documents are stored in historic archives. They present an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and other countries embark on clearing these relics, experts plan to safeguard the habitats that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being removed.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains remaining from weapons with some more secure, various safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently aspires that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing habitats after munitions removal in different areas – because including the most damaging armaments can become framework for new life.