World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and left behind, countless munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

Some of us expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

When the initial researchers went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they observed surprised them. Vedenin remembers his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had made their homes amid the weapons, developing a regenerated habitat richer than the seabed around it.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we discover in areas that are expected to be dangerous and dangerous, he states.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the old munitions. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Population Density

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts documented in their research on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every square metre.

It is surprising that things that are intended to kill 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 some way, marine life establishes itself to the most risky areas.

Artificial Features as Marine Habitats

Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can create replacements, replacing some of the lost marine environment. This research shows that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found elsewhere.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of individuals loaded them in barges; some were deposited in designated sites, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Global Instances of Marine Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas practically serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a many of species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the recent history, surrounding seas are often containing weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tonnes of dangerous substances remain in our seas.

The positions of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partially because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the reality that documents are stored in old files. They present an explosion and safety hazard, as well as risk from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations embark on removing these relics, scientists hope to protect the habitats that have established nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are currently being cleared.

We should replace these steel remains originating from weapons with some less dangerous, some harmless objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.