🔗 Share this article World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Flourishes on Dumped Armaments In the slightly salty waters off the German coast sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea. Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded. Researchers anticipated to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher. When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher. What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he recalls. Thousands of ocean life had established habitats on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed surrounding it. This ocean community was evidence to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are considered toxic and harmful, he says. In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, says Vedenin. Unexpected Creature Concentration An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared. It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous locations. Artificial Features as Marine Habitats Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated in other locations. Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of people loaded them in vessels; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, others just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has responded. Global Instances of Marine Transformation In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically function as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing. Future Issues Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are usually containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas. The positions of these explosives are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, classified armed forces records and the fact that archives are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as risk from the persistent leakage of toxic chemicals. As the German government and different states embark on clearing these remains, experts hope to preserve the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed. Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain more secure, various non-dangerous objects, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin. He presently aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a model for substituting material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for new life.
In the slightly salty waters off the German coast sits a collection of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the World War II and forgotten about, thousands munitions have become matted together over the years. They comprise a corroding carpet on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea. Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the sandy beaches and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the weapons eroded. Researchers anticipated to see a barren area, with no life because it was all poisoned, states the lead researcher. When the first scientists went searching to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher. What they found amazed them. Vedenin remembers his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he recalls. Thousands of ocean life had established habitats on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem more populous than the seabed surrounding it. This ocean community was evidence to the tenacity of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in locations that are considered toxic and harmful, he says. In excess of 40 starfish had piled on to one visible chunk of explosive material. They were living on steel casings, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and mussels were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, says Vedenin. Unexpected Creature Concentration An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every square metre of the explosives, researchers wrote in their research on the observation. The nearby seabed was much sparser, with only eight thousand creatures on every meter squared. It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to eliminate everything are attracting so much life, says Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most dangerous locations. Artificial Features as Marine Habitats Artificial features such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, replacing some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be equally advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is likely to be duplicated in other locations. Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tonnes of munitions were dumped off the German coast. Thousands of people loaded them in vessels; a portion were dropped in allocated areas, others just dumped while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have studied how marine life has responded. Global Instances of Marine Transformation In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have transformed into marine habitats Sunken ships from the World War I have become homes for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically function as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is prohibited, says Vedenin. As a result a lot of species that are usually scarce or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are flourishing. Future Issues Anywhere military conflict has taken place in the recent history, adjacent waters are usually containing weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of volatile compounds remain in our seas. The positions of these explosives are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, classified armed forces records and the fact that archives are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security hazard, as well as risk from the persistent leakage of toxic chemicals. As the German government and different states embark on clearing these remains, experts hope to preserve the ecosystems that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay weapons are currently being removed. Researchers recommend substitute these steel remains remaining from weapons with certain more secure, various non-dangerous objects, like maybe concrete structures, states Vedenin. He presently aspires that what transpires in Lübeck sets a model for substituting material after munitions removal in other locations – because also the most harmful weaponry can become foundation for new life.