World War II Bombs, Torpedoes and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Discarded Weapons

In the slightly salty waters off the German shoreline lies a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedoes and mines. Dumped from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding blanket on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.

Over the years, the explosive stockpile was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions eroded.

We initially thought to see a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.

When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the marine environment, some of us thought they would find a desert, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says the lead researcher.

What they found amazed them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the ROV first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he notes.

Thousands of ocean life had settled amid the munitions, creating a renewed ecosystem more populous than the ocean bottom around it.

This ocean community was proof to the tenacity of life. Indeed remarkable how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are supposed to be hazardous and dangerous, he explains.

In excess of 40 sea stars had piled on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the old munitions. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of creatures that was there, notes Vedenin.

Remarkable Creature Concentration

An average of more than forty thousand organisms were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists wrote in their study on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared.

It is surprising that objects that are designed to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, says Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life establishes itself to the most dangerous locations.

Man-made Structures as Ocean Habitats

Man-made features such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create substitutes, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that weapons could be similarly advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in different areas.

Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of individuals placed them in boats; some were placed in allocated locations, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the first time experts have documented how marine life has adapted.

Worldwide Instances of Ocean Adaptation

• In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have turned into coral reefs
• Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in Maryland
• Military vehicle parts that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam

These places become even more crucial for wildlife as the seas are increasingly stripped by fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is restricted, says Vedenin. Consequently a lot of species that are typically scarce or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.

Coming Factors

Anywhere military conflict has happened in the last century, surrounding seas are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material lie in our oceans.

The sites of these munitions are insufficiently documented, partly because of international boundaries, classified defense data and the reality that records are stored in historic archives. They present an explosion and safety risk, as well as danger from the continuous emission of toxic chemicals.

As the German government and additional nations start clearing these remains, scientists plan to preserve the ecosystems that have established nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are presently being removed.

It would be wise to substitute these steel remains originating from weapons with certain less dangerous, various harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin.

He presently wishes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting material after weapon clearance elsewhere – because including the most harmful explosives can become foundation for new life.