🔗 Share this article World War II Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Naval Mines: How Ocean Creatures Prosper on Dumped Weapons In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic. Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed. We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist. When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he recalls. Countless of ocean life had settled amid the explosives, forming a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it. This ocean community was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he says. Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, states Vedenin. Unexpected Population Density An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre. It is ironic that items that are meant to destroy everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains 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. Man-made Features as Ocean Environments Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be equally positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in other locations. Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were placed in designated areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has responded. Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become coral reefs Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan in the Pacific island These areas become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving. Coming Issues Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our oceans. The positions of these munitions are poorly recorded, in part because of national borders, secret defense data and the reality that documents are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the continuous emission of poisonous compounds. As Germany and other countries start removing these artifacts, scientists plan to preserve the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being extracted. It would be wise to substitute these iron structures originating from munitions with some safer, various non-dangerous structures, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin. He presently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become framework for new life.
In the brackish sea off the German shoreline lies a graveyard of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and mines. Discarded from vessels at the conclusion of the second world war and neglected, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They form a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic. Over the decades, the Nazi arsenal was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kite surfing and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed. We initially anticipated to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist. When the initial researchers went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered surprised them. Vedenin recounts his team members shouting with surprise when the submersible first sent the images back. That moment was a great moment, he recalls. Countless of ocean life had settled amid the explosives, forming a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it. This ocean community was proof to the resilience of marine life. It is actually remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are expected to be toxic and harmful, he says. Over 40 sea stars had piled on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were dwelling on steel casings, fuse pockets and transport cases just a short distance from its dangerous content. Marine fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all observed on the historic weapons. It's similar to a reef ecosystem in terms of the amount of fauna that was present, states Vedenin. Unexpected Population Density An average of more than 40,000 animals were living on every meter squared of the weapons, scientists wrote in their paper on the finding. The surrounding area was much sparser, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre. It is ironic that items that are meant to destroy everything are drawing so much marine organisms, explains 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. Man-made Features as Ocean Environments Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, wind turbines, oil rigs and pipelines can create substitutes, restoring some of the lost marine environment. This study shows that weapons could be equally positive – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be duplicated in other locations. Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tonnes of arms were dumped off the Germany's coast. Thousands of workers loaded them in boats; a portion were placed in designated areas, the remainder just dumped en route. This is the initial instance experts have documented how ocean organisms has responded. Worldwide Instances of Ocean Transformation In the US, retired oil and gas structures have become coral reefs Submerged vessels from the first world war have become homes for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Tank tracks that have become habitat to coral off Asan in the Pacific island These areas become even more important for organisms as the marine environments are increasingly stripped by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and explosive disposal locations practically serve as refuges – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, explains Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are usually uncommon or diminishing, such as the cod fish, are thriving. Coming Issues Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the last century, surrounding seas are typically strewn with weapons, says Vedenin. Many millions of tonnes of volatile compounds rest in our oceans. The positions of these munitions are poorly recorded, in part because of national borders, secret defense data and the reality that documents are hidden in old files. They pose an explosion and safety risk, as well as threat from the continuous emission of poisonous compounds. As Germany and other countries start removing these artifacts, scientists plan to preserve the ecosystems that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are already being extracted. It would be wise to substitute these iron structures originating from munitions with some safer, various non-dangerous structures, like perhaps concrete structures, suggests Vedenin. He presently aspires that what occurs in Lübeck creates a precedent for substituting material after explosive extraction in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become framework for new life.