In the slightly salty sea off the Germany's shoreline sits a wasteland of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Thrown off vessels at the end of the World War II and neglected, numerous munitions have accumulated over the decades. They comprise a corroding carpet on the low-depth, muddy ocean floor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western part of the Baltic Sea.
Over the years, the explosive stockpile was overlooked and neglected. A growing number of visitors came to the coastal areas and calm waters for water sports, kiteboarding and amusement parks. Underwater, the munitions eroded.
We initially expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, explains Andrey Vedenin.
When the first scientists went searching to see what they were affecting to the marine environment, researchers expected to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all poisoned, states a scientist.
What they observed amazed them. Vedenin recounts his colleagues shouting with surprise when the ROV first transmitted footage. This was a memorable occasion, he recalls.
Numerous of marine animals had settled among the munitions, forming a regenerated habitat richer than the ocean bottom surrounding it.
This underwater metropolis was testament to the resilience of life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we find in areas that are supposed to be hazardous and risky, he states.
More than 40 sea stars had gathered on to one exposed fragment of TNT. They were dwelling on steel casings, detonator compartments and carrying containers just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crabs, sea anemones and bivalves were all observed on the discarded explosives. You could compare it with a coral reef in terms of the amount of creatures that was present, says Vedenin.
Surprising Population Density
An mean of more than forty thousand organisms were living on every meter squared of the munitions, experts wrote in their research on the discovery. The surrounding area was much poorer in life, with only 8,000 creatures on every square metre.
It is surprising that items that are designed to destroy everything are hosting so much life, states Vedenin. It's evident how the natural world evolves after a major disaster such as the second world war and how, in certain respects, marine life returns to the most hazardous places.
Man-made Structures as Marine Habitats
Man-made features such as sunken vessels, offshore windfarms, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can provide substitutes, replacing some of the removed marine environment. This research demonstrates that explosives could be similarly beneficial – the explosion of marine organisms on those in the Bay of Lübeck is expected to be repeated elsewhere.
Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6m tonnes of arms were disposed of off the Germany's shoreline. Thousands of individuals placed them in barges; a portion were dropped in specific locations, others just discarded at sea during transport. This is the initial instance scientists have studied how marine life has adapted.
Global Instances of Ocean Adaptation
- In the United States, retired drilling platforms have turned into reef ecosystems
- Shipwrecks from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac River in the state of Maryland
- Tank tracks that have become environment to reef-building organisms off Asan beach in Guam
These places become even more valuable for marine life as the oceans are increasingly stripped by commercial fishing, seafloor dredging and boat mooring. Sunken ships and weapons dump sites effectively serve as refuges – they are not official reserves, but almost any kind of human activity is restricted, states Vedenin. As a result a many of organisms that are otherwise uncommon or diminishing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Coming Considerations
Wherever military conflict has happened in the last century, nearby oceans are often littered with explosives, explains Vedenin. Many millions of tons of dangerous substances remain in our oceans.
The sites of these weapons are poorly mapped, partially because of national borders, restricted armed forces records and the reality that documents are hidden in old files. They create an detonation and safety risk, as well as threat from the continuous emission of hazardous substances.
As the German government and other countries embark on extracting these relics, scientists aim to protect the marine communities that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck weapons are presently being extracted.
Researchers recommend replace these steel remains left from munitions with certain less dangerous, various safe objects, like possibly man-made habitats, suggests Vedenin.
He currently aspires that what occurs in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing material after munitions removal in different areas – because also the most harmful explosives can become foundation for new life.
