World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Armaments

In the brackish sea off the Germany's shoreline rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the second world war and left behind, numerous munitions have become matted together over the years. They create a corroding carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Researchers expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists shouting with surprise when the ROV first sent the images back. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Countless of ocean life had made their homes among the weapons, developing a regenerated ecosystem richer than the seabed around it.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of life. Indeed remarkable how much life we discover in locations that are considered hazardous and risky, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, says Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were dwelling on every meter squared of the explosives, researchers documented in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy all life are hosting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most dangerous areas.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, restoring some of the destroyed marine environment. This investigation reveals that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals transported them in boats; some were dropped in designated areas, the remainder just dumped while traveling. This is the first time researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more valuable for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially act as refuges – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, says Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are usually scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are often containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are inadequately recorded, partly because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the reality that records are hidden in historical records. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the continuous release of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and additional nations start extracting these relics, researchers hope to protect the habitats that have developed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are currently being extracted.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses originating from munitions with certain more secure, some non-dangerous objects, like possibly artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a precedent for substituting structures after weapon clearance in other locations – because including the most damaging weaponry can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.