World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Thrown off boats at the end of the World War II and neglected, countless munitions have become matted together over the decades. They form a rusting carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions deteriorated.

Researchers thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

When the team went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he says.

Numerous of ocean life had settled on the weapons, creating a revitalized ecosystem denser than the ocean bottom surrounding it.

This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of life. Indeed surprising how much life we discover in locations that are expected to be toxic and dangerous, he says.

More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were living on iron containers, fuse pockets and storage boxes just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the old munitions. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the amount of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the munitions, experts wrote in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is surprising that items that are designed to kill everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Features as Marine Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can offer replacements, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation shows that weapons could be comparably advantageous – the proliferation of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals placed them in vessels; a portion were placed in specific areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time experts have recorded how ocean organisms has adapted.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

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

These locations become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites effectively serve as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a numerous of marine species that are typically uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere military conflict has occurred in the recent history, adjacent waters are often littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are poorly documented, partly because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the situation that documents are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as risk from the persistent release of hazardous substances.

As Germany and additional nations start removing these artifacts, experts aim to preserve the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being removed.

We should substitute these metal carcasses left from munitions with some more secure, various non-dangerous objects, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for substituting habitats after explosive extraction in other locations – because even the most harmful armaments can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.