World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's shoreline rests a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from boats at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, numerous munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a rusting blanket on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a barren area, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. It was a remarkable experience, he recalls.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes amid the weapons, forming a renewed ecosystem more populous than the sea floor surrounding it.

This marine city was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed surprising how much marine organisms we observe in places that are considered toxic and risky, he says.

Over 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of creatures that was inhabiting the area, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand creatures were living on every meter squared of the weapons, experts documented in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 organisms on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are intended to eliminate everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adapts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous places.

Man-made Features as Marine Habitats

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide alternatives, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This study demonstrates that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals placed them in vessels; some were deposited in designated locations, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance experts have studied how ocean organisms has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become reef ecosystems
• Sunken ships from the first world war have become environments for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These areas become even more valuable for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively function as refuges – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are insufficiently recorded, in part because of national borders, secret armed forces records and the reality that archives are stored in old files. They present an explosion and security danger, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and different states embark on removing these remains, experts hope to protect the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are currently being cleared.

It would be wise to replace these steel remains originating from weapons with certain more secure, some non-dangerous structures, like possibly artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He now aspires that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most damaging armaments can become foundation for new life.