World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish waters off the German coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Discarded from boats at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a rusting layer on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the weapons eroded.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher.

When the team went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains a scientist.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. It was a great moment, he recalls.

Countless of ocean life had settled among the weapons, developing a revitalized ecosystem richer than the seabed surrounding it.

This marine city was evidence to the tenacity of marine life. It is actually astonishing how much marine organisms we discover in areas that are supposed to be dangerous and risky, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were living on steel casings, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the old munitions. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, states Vedenin.

Unexpected Creature Concentration

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

It is paradoxical that things that are designed to kill everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. It's evident how nature evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life finds its way to the most hazardous areas.

Artificial Structures as Marine Habitats

Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated elsewhere.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals placed them in boats; some were deposited in specific sites, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation

• In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have turned into coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These areas become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are otherwise scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Factors

Wherever armed conflict has taken place in the last century, nearby oceans are usually littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of explosive material remain in our marine environments.

The locations of these munitions are poorly documented, in part because of international boundaries, classified military information and the fact that archives are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and safety danger, as well as threat from the persistent leakage of poisonous compounds.

As the German government and different states begin removing these remains, scientists hope to protect the habitats that have developed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being cleared.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains left from munitions with some more secure, some harmless objects, like perhaps concrete structures, states Vedenin.

He now wishes that what transpires in Lübeck sets a precedent for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most destructive explosives can become foundation for new life.