🔗 Share this article Nazi Explosives, Torpedo Heads and Mines: The Way Marine Life Prosper on Abandoned Weapons In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have become matted together over the years. They create a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea. Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed. We initially thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he notes. Countless of ocean life had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor surrounding it. This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we discover in places that are considered toxic and harmful, he explains. Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, notes Vedenin. Unexpected Creature Concentration An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared. It is ironic that objects that are designed to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky places. Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in different areas. Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in barges; some were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted. Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into marine habitats Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving. Future Factors Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually strewn with explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments. The positions of these munitions are poorly documented, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that archives are buried in old files. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances. As Germany and other countries begin removing these relics, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being cleared. We should substitute these steel remains left from weapons with certain safer, some harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin. He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for new life.
In the slightly salty waters off the Germany's coast sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and naval mines. Dumped from barges at the end of the second world war and forgotten about, numerous weapons have become matted together over the years. They create a rusting layer on the shallow, muddy seafloor of the Lübeck Bay in the western part of the Baltic Sea. Over the decades, the wartime weapons was ignored and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for jetskiing, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the weapons decayed. We initially thought to see a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all poisoned, explains Andrey Vedenin. When the first scientists went investigating to see what they were affecting to the ecosystem, some of us anticipated finding a lifeless zone, with no organisms because it was all poisoned, states a scientist. What they discovered astonished them. Vedenin recalls his team members reacting with shock when the submersible first transmitted footage. It was a great moment, he notes. Countless of ocean life had made their homes on the weapons, creating a regenerated ecosystem denser than the sea floor surrounding it. This underwater metropolis was evidence to the tenacity of life. It is actually astonishing how much life we discover in places that are considered toxic and harmful, he explains. Over 40 starfish had clustered on to one accessible piece of explosive material. They were dwelling on iron containers, ignition chambers and transport cases just centimetres from its volatile core. Fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all discovered on the historic weapons. It's similar to a coral reef in terms of the quantity of creatures that was present, notes Vedenin. Unexpected Creature Concentration An average of more than 40,000 organisms were dwelling on every square metre of the explosives, scientists reported in their paper on the discovery. The nearby seabed was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every meter squared. It is ironic that objects that are designed to eliminate everything are attracting so much marine organisms, states Vedenin. You can see how nature adjusts after a devastating occurrence such as the second world war and how, in some way, marine life returns to the most risky places. Artificial Features as Ocean Habitats Artificial structures such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, restoring some of the destroyed habitat. This research demonstrates that munitions could be comparably advantageous – the bloom of marine organisms on those in the Lübeck Bay is expected to be repeated in different areas. Between 1946 and 1948, 1.6m tons of weapons were dumped off the German shoreline. Numerous of individuals loaded them in barges; some were dropped in allocated areas, the remainder just thrown overboard en route. This is the first time researchers have recorded how marine life has adapted. Global Examples of Ocean Adaptation In the US, decommissioned energy installations have turned into marine habitats Submerged vessels from the first world war have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland Tank tracks that have become environment to coral off Asan in the Pacific island These areas become even more important for marine life as the seas are increasingly denuded by commercial fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Shipwrecks and munitions areas effectively function as sanctuaries – they are not official reserves, but virtually any kind of human activity is prohibited, states Vedenin. As a result a lot of marine species that are otherwise rare or declining, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving. Future Factors Wherever armed conflict has occurred in the past 100 years, surrounding seas are usually strewn with explosives, states Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments. The positions of these munitions are poorly documented, partly because of sovereign limits, restricted military information and the reality that archives are buried in old files. They pose an explosion and safety hazard, as well as danger from the persistent leakage of hazardous substances. As Germany and other countries begin removing these relics, researchers hope to protect the ecosystems that have developed nearby. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being cleared. We should substitute these steel remains left from weapons with certain safer, some harmless materials, like possibly man-made habitats, says Vedenin. He currently hopes that what happens in the Bay of Lübeck creates a precedent for replacing structures after munitions removal in other locations – because including the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for new life.