World War II Explosives, Torpedoes and Mines: The Way Ocean Creatures Thrives on Dumped Weapons
In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of Nazi bombs, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and neglected, numerous weapons have fused into clusters over the years. They create a rusting blanket on the shallow, silty seafloor of the LĂĽbeck Bay in the western tip of the Baltic Sea.
Over the years, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors traveled to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Underwater, the munitions deteriorated.
We initially expected to see a barren area, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.
When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were doing to the ecosystem, researchers expected to see a barren area, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, says Andrey Vedenin.
What they observed astonished them. Vedenin recounts his scientists shouting with surprise when the underwater vehicle first sent the images back. This was a memorable occasion, he notes.
Countless of ocean life had settled among the explosives, creating a regenerated marine community richer than the ocean bottom nearby.
This ocean community was proof to the resilience of marine life. Truly astonishing how much life we find in locations that are expected to be hazardous and dangerous, he states.
In excess of 40 sea stars had clustered on to one exposed chunk of explosive material. They were living on metal shells, fuse pockets and storage boxes just centimetres from its dangerous content. Fish, crustaceans, anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a marine reef in terms of the abundance of animal life that was inhabiting the area, says Vedenin.
Remarkable Creature Concentration
An mean of more than forty thousand animals were residing on every square metre of the weapons, researchers wrote in their paper on the finding. The adjacent region was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 individuals on every square metre.
It is surprising that objects that are meant to destroy everything are hosting so much life, explains Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in some way, life finds its way to the most hazardous areas.
Man-made Features as Marine Habitats
Artificial structures such as shipwrecks, offshore windfarms, oil rigs and pipelines can provide replacements, restoring some of the removed marine environment. This investigation reveals that munitions could be similarly beneficial – the proliferation of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be found in other locations.
Between the late 1940s and 1948, 1.6 million tons of arms were dumped off the German shoreline. Countless of workers loaded them in boats; some were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard while traveling. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how ocean organisms has responded.
Worldwide Examples of Ocean Transformation
- In the US, decommissioned drilling platforms have become coral reefs
- Sunken ships from the World War I have become habitats for creatures along the Potomac in the state of Maryland
- Tank tracks that have become home to reef-building organisms off Asan in Guam
These locations become even more important for marine life as the marine environments are increasingly depleted by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and anchoring. Shipwrecks and explosive disposal locations essentially act as refuges – they are not official reserves, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise scarce or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Future Factors
Anywhere armed conflict has taken place in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually containing explosives, says Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.
The sites of these explosives are poorly documented, partially because of international boundaries, secret armed forces records and the fact that documents are hidden in historical records. They present an detonation and safety risk, as well as danger from the ongoing emission of toxic chemicals.
As Germany and other countries begin removing these relics, researchers hope to safeguard the habitats that have developed in their vicinity. In the LĂĽbeck Bay explosives are already being extracted.
It would be wise to replace these steel remains remaining from munitions with certain less dangerous, various non-dangerous structures, like possibly concrete structures, says Vedenin.
He currently hopes that what transpires in Lübeck establishes a precedent for replacing material after explosive extraction in different areas – because even the most damaging armaments can become foundation for new life.
