World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a corroding layer on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

We initially anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the team went looking to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states a scientist.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. That moment was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of sea creatures had made their homes on the explosives, developing a renewed marine community denser than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are considered hazardous and risky, he states.

Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were residing on metal shells, ignition chambers and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 organisms were living on every square metre of the explosives, experts documented in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to destroy everything are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in some way, life returns to the most risky places.

Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer substitutes, replacing some of the lost habitat. This study reveals that munitions could be equally positive – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals transported them in vessels; some were deposited in allocated locations, others just dumped while traveling. This is the first time experts have studied how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships 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 the Pacific island

These areas become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of species that are typically scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the last century, adjacent waters are usually littered with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are inadequately mapped, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the reality that archives are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and security risk, as well as risk from the ongoing leakage of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states embark on removing these relics, experts plan to protect the ecosystems that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being cleared.

We should replace these iron structures originating from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for marine organisms.