World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and left behind, countless explosives have fused into clusters over the years. They form a corroding layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of visitors came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

Researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin recalls his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a remarkable experience, he notes.

Thousands of sea creatures had made their homes amid the weapons, developing a regenerated ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the resilience of marine life. Indeed remarkable how much life we discover in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible piece of TNT. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and carrying containers just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers wrote in their study on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Man-made structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, compensating for some of the removed habitat. This study shows 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 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of individuals transported them in barges; some were placed in allocated areas, others just thrown overboard during transport. This is the first time experts have recorded how ocean organisms has reacted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have become marine habitats
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites essentially serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. Therefore a lot of species that are usually rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are often strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our seas.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the fact that documents are buried in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and additional nations begin extracting these remains, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from weapons with some more secure, various safe materials, like maybe artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now wishes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a example for replacing structures after explosive extraction elsewhere – because including the most destructive weaponry can become foundation for new life.