World War II Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Marine Life Flourishes on Abandoned Weapons
In the slightly salty waters off the German coast sits a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They form a decaying blanket on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.
Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and neglected. A growing number of tourists came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Below the waves, the munitions decayed.
Researchers thought to see a desert, with no life because it was all toxic, explains the lead researcher.
When the first scientists went looking to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, some of us anticipated finding a desert, with no life because it was all poisoned, says a scientist.
What they observed amazed them. Vedenin remembers his colleagues exclaiming in amazement when the submersible first transmitted footage. This was a remarkable experience, he notes.
Numerous of ocean life had established habitats amid the explosives, forming a regenerated ecosystem richer than the sea floor around it.
This underwater metropolis was proof to the resilience of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we discover in areas that are supposed to be toxic and harmful, he states.
More than 40 starfish had piled on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were residing on steel casings, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its explosive filling. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was there, says Vedenin.
Surprising Population Density
An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists reported in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.
It is paradoxical that objects that are meant to destroy all life are hosting so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how nature evolves after a major disaster such as the World War II and how, in some way, marine life establishes itself to the most hazardous places.
Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats
Man-made structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can provide alternatives, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be similarly advantageous – the explosion of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated in other locations.
Between 1946 and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Numerous of individuals transported them in barges; a portion were dropped in allocated sites, others just thrown overboard en route. This is the initial instance scientists have documented how marine life has adapted.
Global Examples of Marine Adaptation
- In the US, decommissioned energy installations have transformed into marine habitats
- Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in Maryland
- Tank tracks that have become home to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island
These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the cod fish, are thriving.
Coming Issues
Anywhere armed conflict has happened in the past 100 years, adjacent waters are often littered with munitions, says Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.
The positions of these explosives are inadequately mapped, in part because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the fact that documents are buried in old files. They pose an detonation and security danger, as well as risk from the continuous leakage of poisonous compounds.
As the German government and different states embark on extracting these relics, scientists aim to protect the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the Bay of Lübeck explosives are currently being extracted.
It would be wise to replace these iron structures left from weapons with some less dangerous, various harmless materials, like maybe artificial reefs, says Vedenin.
He now hopes that what occurs in Lübeck creates a example for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most damaging weaponry can become framework for marine organisms.