World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Discarded Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the German coast sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands weapons have accumulated over the decades. They form a corroding carpet on the low-depth, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the weapons eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains a scientist.

What they found surprised them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he says.

Countless of marine animals had settled among the weapons, forming a renewed ecosystem richer than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. It is actually remarkable how much life we observe in locations that are considered toxic and risky, he explains.

Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was there, states Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand creatures were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, experts documented in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life finds its way to the most dangerous locations.

Artificial Features as Ocean Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, replacing some of the destroyed marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be equally positive – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be duplicated in other locations.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were dumped off the Germany's coast. Numerous of individuals loaded them in vessels; some were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.

Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the World War I have become homes for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more valuable for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of species that are typically rare or declining, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Coming Issues

Wherever armed conflict has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are typically containing weapons, states Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material rest in our seas.

The positions of these explosives are poorly recorded, partially because of international boundaries, secret military information and the fact that archives are hidden in historic archives. They create an detonation and security danger, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states begin clearing these relics, experts hope to protect the marine communities that have formed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are already being extracted.

We should substitute these steel remains originating from munitions with certain safer, various safe objects, like perhaps artificial reefs, states Vedenin.

He presently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting structures after weapon clearance elsewhere – because even the most harmful armaments can become foundation for new life.