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

In the brackish waters off the Germany's coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands explosives have accumulated over the years. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.

Some of us thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he says.

Countless of sea creatures had settled among the explosives, forming a revitalized marine community more populous than the ocean bottom nearby.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he says.

In excess of 40 starfish had clustered on to one visible fragment of TNT. They were living on steel casings, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, states Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists wrote in their paper on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.

It is ironic that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life establishes itself to the most hazardous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be comparably beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of munitions were dumped off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers placed them in boats; some were placed in allocated sites, others just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time scientists have studied how marine life has reacted.

Global Examples of Ocean Transformation

• In the United States, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into coral reefs
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become environment to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for marine life as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, explains Vedenin. Therefore a many of species that are usually rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Wherever warfare has taken place in the last century, adjacent waters are often strewn with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our seas.

The locations of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partly because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the fact that documents are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and safety hazard, as well as risk from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations begin clearing these remains, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain safer, various harmless materials, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing material after explosive extraction elsewhere – because including the most harmful armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.