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

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from boats at the end of the World War II and left behind, thousands weapons have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding blanket on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A increasing amount of tourists came to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for jetskiing, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all contaminated, states the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, the team thought they would find a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin remembers his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls.

Numerous of marine animals had established habitats among the munitions, forming a renewed ecosystem more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of marine life. Indeed astonishing how much life we find in locations that are considered hazardous and harmful, he explains.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all found on the historic weapons. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An mean of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the munitions, researchers reported in their research on the finding. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 organisms on every square metre.

It is paradoxical that things that are meant to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most risky places.

Man-made Structures as Marine Environments

Artificial features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the removed marine environment. This investigation demonstrates that explosives could be equally positive – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is probable to be found in other locations.

Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were discarded off the Germany's coast. Numerous of people loaded them in boats; some were placed in designated locations, the remainder just dumped during transport. This is the initial instance researchers have documented how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Transformation

• In the US, retired drilling platforms have become reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the first world war have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for wildlife as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, explains Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are usually uncommon or declining, such as the cod fish, are thriving.

Coming Issues

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, adjacent waters are usually littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The locations of these munitions are poorly documented, partially because of international boundaries, restricted military information and the situation that archives are hidden in historic archives. They create an explosion and safety hazard, as well as threat from the persistent release of poisonous compounds.

As Germany and other countries begin clearing these remains, scientists plan to protect the habitats that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being removed.

We should substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain less dangerous, some non-dangerous materials, like possibly artificial reefs, says Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a example for replacing habitats after munitions removal in other locations – because even the most damaging armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.