World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons
In the brackish waters off the German coast rests a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from vessels at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, countless weapons have accumulated over the years. They form a decaying carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic.
Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A increasing amount of visitors traveled to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Below the waves, the munitions deteriorated.
Researchers thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains the lead researcher.
When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.
What they discovered amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first relayed pictures. This was a remarkable experience, he recalls.
Thousands of marine animals had made their homes amid the munitions, forming a regenerated habitat richer than the sea floor nearby.
This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of marine life. Truly surprising how much life we find in areas that are considered dangerous and risky, he states.
More than 40 starfish had gathered on to one accessible piece of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, ignition chambers and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and mussels were all found on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.
Unexpected Population Density
An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every square metre of the weapons, researchers documented in their research on the discovery. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.
It is paradoxical that objects that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life finds its way to the most risky areas.
Artificial Structures as Ocean Habitats
Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can create replacements, restoring some of the removed habitat. This investigation demonstrates that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found in other locations.
Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Numerous of workers loaded them in vessels; a portion were deposited in designated areas, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the first time experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.
Worldwide Examples of Marine Transformation
- In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have transformed into reef ecosystems
- Shipwrecks from the first world war have become homes for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
- Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam
These places become even more crucial for organisms as the oceans are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and weapons dump sites essentially serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but almost any kind of human activity is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a many of species that are usually rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are prospering.
Future Considerations
Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are typically containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of explosive material lie in our seas.
The sites of these weapons are insufficiently documented, in part because of international boundaries, classified military information and the situation that records are stored in old files. They present an explosion and security hazard, as well as threat from the persistent emission of hazardous substances.
As the German government and additional nations begin removing these artifacts, scientists hope to safeguard the marine communities that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are currently being cleared.
Researchers recommend replace these iron structures remaining from weapons with some safer, various harmless structures, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.
He presently wishes that what happens in Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because even the most destructive explosives can become scaffolding for ocean ecosystems.