World War II Munitions, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Dumped Armaments

In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Thrown off barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous munitions have fused into clusters over the decades. They create a rusting blanket on the low-depth, silty ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions eroded.

We initially thought to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the ROV first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he notes.

Thousands of sea creatures had settled among the explosives, creating a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor around it.

This underwater metropolis was testament to the persistence of life. It is actually surprising how much life we observe in places that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

More than 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just a short distance from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Population Density

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the munitions, researchers documented in their paper on the observation. The adjacent region was much sparser, with only eight thousand organisms on every meter squared.

It is ironic that objects that are intended to eliminate all life are drawing so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most dangerous places.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Artificial constructions such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide replacements, restoring some of the lost habitat. This investigation shows that explosives could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be found in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of weapons were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people loaded them in boats; some were placed in designated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the first time scientists have documented how marine life has reacted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become environments for wildlife along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to coral off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more valuable for wildlife as the seas are increasingly denuded by fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations effectively act as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. Therefore a many of organisms that are otherwise rare or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are flourishing.

Coming Issues

Anywhere warfare has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are usually strewn with weapons, states Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.

The sites of these weapons are insufficiently mapped, partly because of national borders, secret defense data and the fact that records are stored in historical records. They present an detonation and security risk, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals.

As Germany and other countries begin clearing these relics, scientists plan to safeguard the habitats that have developed nearby. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being extracted.

Researchers recommend replace these steel remains originating from munitions with certain more secure, various safe materials, like perhaps artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck sets a model for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging armaments can become framework for ocean ecosystems.