World War II Munitions, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Weapons

In the slightly salty sea off the German shoreline lies a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedoes and naval mines. Dumped from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, numerous weapons have become matted together over the years. They form a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and forgotten about. A increasing amount of tourists traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions decayed.

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

When the initial researchers went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, says the lead researcher.

What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his scientists reacting with shock when the submersible first relayed pictures. That moment was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had established habitats among the weapons, creating a revitalized ecosystem more populous than the sea floor nearby.

This marine city was evidence to the persistence of marine life. Indeed surprising how much life we discover in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one visible fragment of explosive material. They were dwelling on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the quantity of fauna that was inhabiting the area, notes Vedenin.

Surprising Creature Concentration

An average of more than 40,000 animals were dwelling on every square metre of the weapons, scientists reported in their research on the finding. The adjacent region was much less diverse, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared.

It is paradoxical that items that are designed to destroy everything are attracting so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. You can see how the natural world adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most risky locations.

Artificial Structures as Ocean Environments

Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, oil rigs and undersea pipes can offer replacements, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This research shows that explosives could be similarly advantageous – the proliferation of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be found in different areas.

Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6m tons of weapons were discarded off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of people placed them in boats; some were deposited in designated areas, others just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time researchers have recorded how ocean organisms has responded.

Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the United States, decommissioned drilling platforms have become coral reefs
• Shipwrecks from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
• Tank tracks that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam

These areas become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly denuded by fishing, bottom trawling and boat mooring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but virtually any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. As a result a many of marine species that are usually scarce or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are prospering.

Future Considerations

Wherever military conflict has happened in the past 100 years, nearby oceans are typically containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material remain in our oceans.

The locations of these explosives are insufficiently mapped, partly because of sovereign limits, classified defense data and the fact that archives are buried in historic archives. They present an explosion and safety risk, as well as risk from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances.

As the German government and other countries start clearing these relics, experts plan to preserve the ecosystems that have developed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are already being removed.

Researchers recommend substitute these iron structures left from weapons with certain more secure, various non-dangerous structures, like perhaps man-made habitats, states Vedenin.

He now aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a model for replacing structures after munitions removal elsewhere – because including the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for marine organisms.