World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Abandoned Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They create a decaying carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile 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 munitions decayed.

Researchers thought to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, some of us thought they would find a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states Andrey Vedenin.

What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. This was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats among the weapons, forming a revitalized habitat denser than the seabed around it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the persistence of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was present, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers documented in their research on the observation. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are meant to eliminate all life are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Structures as Marine Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be similarly positive – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of individuals placed them in boats; some were dropped in designated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into reef ecosystems
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become environments for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for wildlife as the seas are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially act as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are otherwise uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Considerations

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, surrounding seas are often containing explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our oceans.

The positions of these explosives are poorly documented, partly because of national borders, classified defense data and the situation that records are stored in historical records. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the persistent emission of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries start clearing these artifacts, researchers hope to preserve the habitats that have formed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains left from weapons with some less dangerous, various non-dangerous objects, like possibly concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for replacing habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because including the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for new life.