World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's coast rests a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They comprise a decaying blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons decayed.

Some of us expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, says a scientist.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a great moment, he says.

Thousands of marine animals had made their homes on the explosives, developing a renewed marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This ocean community was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Truly astonishing how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and dangerous, he explains.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed fragment of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand animals were living on every square metre of the weapons, researchers documented in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Man-made constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, replacing some of the lost habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of people transported them in boats; some were placed in specific locations, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively act as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, nearby oceans are usually containing munitions, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The positions of these munitions are poorly mapped, partially because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the situation that archives are stored in old files. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as threat from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and different states embark on extracting these remains, researchers hope to safeguard the habitats that have established around them. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are presently being removed.

We should replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with some more secure, some safe materials, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.

He currently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most harmful armaments can become framework for marine organisms.