World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Thrives on Abandoned Weapons

In the brackish sea off the German coast lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off barges at the conclusion of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They create a corroding carpet on the shallow, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kite surfing and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.

When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, says Andrey Vedenin.

What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the underwater vehicle first relayed pictures. This was a great moment, he notes.

Countless of marine animals had established habitats amid the munitions, creating a regenerated marine community richer than the sea floor around it.

This ocean community was proof to the persistence of marine life. Indeed surprising how much life we observe in areas that are considered dangerous and risky, he states.

In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one accessible chunk of TNT. They were residing on iron containers, fuse pockets and transport cases just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. It resembles a marine reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every square metre of the munitions, experts reported in their paper on the finding. The nearby seabed was much less diverse, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are designed to destroy all life are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. It's evident how nature adjusts after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most risky locations.

Artificial Features as Marine Environments

Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can offer replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is likely to be repeated in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of arms were disposed of off the German shoreline. Numerous of workers transported them in barges; a portion were placed in designated sites, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance researchers have studied how marine life has responded.

Worldwide Examples of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into reef ecosystems
• Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island

These places become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas essentially function as protected areas – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are typically rare or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Future Considerations

Anywhere armed conflict has occurred in the last century, adjacent waters are usually strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The sites of these weapons are poorly recorded, partially because of national borders, restricted defense data and the situation that records are stored in historic archives. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as danger from the continuous leakage of hazardous substances.

As Germany and different states start removing these relics, researchers hope to protect the marine communities that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these metal carcasses remaining from munitions with some more secure, various harmless structures, like maybe artificial reefs, suggests Vedenin.

He now aspires that what occurs in Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after weapon clearance in other locations – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for marine organisms.