World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the second world war and neglected, countless weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They create a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all toxic, states a scientist.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a memorable occasion, he says.

Countless of ocean life had established habitats among the munitions, developing a regenerated habitat denser than the sea floor nearby.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. Indeed astonishing how much life we find in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Unexpected Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 creatures were living on every square metre of the weapons, scientists documented in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.

It is ironic that items that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most hazardous places.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the lost habitat. This study reveals that explosives could be equally beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were disposed of off the German shoreline. Countless of people loaded them in barges; a portion were placed in specific sites, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired energy installations have become marine habitats
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations essentially act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a many of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.

Coming Factors

Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are usually littered with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds remain in our marine environments.

The positions of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, partly because of national borders, classified military information and the fact that documents are hidden in old files. They present an detonation and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and different states start clearing these remains, experts aim to protect the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are presently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these iron structures left from weapons with some less dangerous, various non-dangerous objects, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what occurs in Lübeck sets a example for substituting habitats after explosive extraction elsewhere – because also the most harmful explosives can become framework for ocean ecosystems.