World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off boats at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes amid the munitions, developing a renewed habitat denser than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was proof to the tenacity of life. Truly remarkable how much life we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible chunk of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the explosives, experts documented in their study on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer alternatives, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that explosives could be comparably beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Thousands of people loaded them in vessels; some were dropped in designated locations, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, retired energy installations have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are otherwise scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Future Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are often littered with weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The sites of these weapons are poorly mapped, partially because of sovereign limits, secret military information and the situation that archives are stored in historic archives. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries embark on clearing these remains, experts hope to protect the habitats that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures remaining from munitions with some more secure, some non-dangerous materials, like maybe concrete structures, says Vedenin.

He currently wishes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most harmful weaponry can become scaffolding for marine organisms.