🔗 Share this article Nazi Bombs, Torpedo Heads and Mines: How Ocean Creatures Flourishes on Dumped Weapons In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They create a rusting carpet on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic. Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed. Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls. Thousands of marine animals had made their homes amid the munitions, developing a regenerated ecosystem denser than the seabed around it. This marine city was evidence to the persistence of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he states. Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were living on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, states Vedenin. Surprising Creature Concentration An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared. It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most dangerous areas. Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be equally beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in other locations. Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people loaded them in barges; some were deposited in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has adapted. Global Instances of Marine Transformation In the US, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island These places become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are typically scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing. Future Issues Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material remain in our seas. The sites of these weapons are insufficiently recorded, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the fact that documents are hidden in old files. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals. As Germany and other countries start clearing these remains, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared. It would be wise to substitute these steel remains left from munitions with some less dangerous, some safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin. He now hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.
In the brackish waters off the German shoreline rests a graveyard of World War II explosives, torpedoes and mines. Discarded from barges at the end of the World War II and forgotten about, countless explosives have accumulated over the years. They create a rusting carpet on the shallow, silty ocean floor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic. Over the decades, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of tourists flocked to the coastal areas and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed. Some of us expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all toxic, states a scientist. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with nothing living there because it was all toxic, says Andrey Vedenin. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his scientists reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. It was a memorable occasion, he recalls. Thousands of marine animals had made their homes amid the munitions, developing a regenerated ecosystem denser than the seabed around it. This marine city was evidence to the persistence of life. Indeed astonishing how much marine organisms we observe in areas that are expected to be hazardous and harmful, he states. Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one exposed chunk of TNT. They were living on metal shells, detonator compartments and transport cases just a short distance from its explosive filling. Fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all discovered on the discarded explosives. It resembles a coral reef in terms of the abundance of fauna that was present, states Vedenin. Surprising Creature Concentration An average of more than forty thousand animals were dwelling on every meter squared of the munitions, scientists reported in their study on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only eight thousand individuals on every meter squared. It is ironic that things that are intended to destroy all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. One can observe how the natural world evolves after a catastrophic event such as the World War II and how, in certain respects, life returns to the most dangerous areas. Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats Artificial features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, compensating for some of the lost habitat. This research reveals that weapons could be equally beneficial – the bloom of life on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in other locations. Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of munitions were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Countless of people loaded them in barges; some were deposited in allocated sites, the remainder just discarded at sea while traveling. This is the initial instance experts have recorded how marine life has adapted. Global Instances of Marine Transformation In the US, retired energy installations have turned into coral reefs Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to coral off Asan beach in the Pacific island These places become even more valuable for organisms as the seas are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas essentially function as sanctuaries – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of anthropogenic disturbance is restricted, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are typically scarce or declining, such as the cod fish, are flourishing. Future Issues Anywhere military conflict has happened in the recent history, adjacent waters are typically littered with munitions, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of explosive material remain in our seas. The sites of these weapons are insufficiently recorded, partially because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the fact that documents are hidden in old files. They create an explosion and safety danger, as well as threat from the continuous leakage of toxic chemicals. As Germany and other countries start clearing these remains, researchers hope to preserve the marine communities that have formed in their vicinity. In the Lübeck Bay munitions are already being cleared. It would be wise to substitute these steel remains left from munitions with some less dangerous, some safe materials, like maybe man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin. He now hopes that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck establishes a model for substituting structures after explosive extraction in other locations – because also the most damaging explosives can become foundation for ocean ecosystems.