In the brackish sea off the German coast sits a collection of World War II explosives, torpedo heads and mines. Dumped from vessels at the end of the World War II and left behind, numerous explosives have accumulated over the decades. They create a decaying layer on the low-depth, silty seafloor of the Bay of Lübeck in the western tip of the Baltic.
Over the years, the wartime weapons was overlooked and forgotten about. A growing number of visitors flocked to the sandy beaches and tranquil sea for water sports, kiteboarding and entertainment venues. Beneath the surface, the munitions decayed.
Some of us anticipated to see a lifeless zone, with no life because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.
When the first scientists went looking to see what they were doing to the marine environment, the team anticipated finding a barren area, with nothing living there because it was all contaminated, says the lead researcher.
What they found astonished them. Vedenin recounts his team members reacting with shock when the underwater vehicle first transmitted footage. That moment was a remarkable experience, he says.
Countless of marine animals had established habitats amid the munitions, creating a renewed marine community denser than the ocean bottom nearby.
This ocean community was testament to the resilience of marine life. Truly remarkable how much marine organisms we find in locations that are supposed to be dangerous and dangerous, he says.
More than 40 sea stars had clustered on to one accessible fragment of TNT. They were living on metal shells, ignition chambers and storage boxes just centimetres from its volatile core. Marine fish, crustaceans, sea anemones and mussels were all observed on the historic weapons. You could compare it with a reef ecosystem in terms of the abundance of animal life that was there, notes Vedenin.
Remarkable Population Density
An average of more than forty thousand organisms were residing on every meter squared of the explosives, scientists reported in their study on the observation. The surrounding area was much less diverse, with only 8,000 individuals on every meter squared.
It is surprising that objects that are intended to eliminate all life are drawing so much marine organisms, explains Vedenin. You can see how nature adapts after a devastating occurrence such as the World War II and how, in some way, life establishes itself to the most risky places.
Man-made Features as Ocean Habitats
Artificial constructions such as sunken vessels, wind turbines, drilling platforms and undersea pipes can create replacements, compensating for some of the lost marine environment. This investigation shows that explosives could be equally advantageous – the bloom of life on those in the Bay of Lübeck is probable to be repeated elsewhere.
Between the late 1940s and the post-war period, 1.6 million tons of weapons were discarded off the German coast. Thousands of people transported them in vessels; some were placed in designated sites, others just dumped while traveling. This is the first time experts have documented how ocean organisms has reacted.
Global Examples of Ocean Transformation
- In the US, decommissioned oil and gas structures have become reef ecosystems
- Submerged vessels from the World War I have become habitats for marine life along the Potomac in Maryland
- Military vehicle parts that have become habitat to reef-building organisms off Asan in the Pacific island
These places become even more important for organisms as the oceans are increasingly depleted by fishing, bottom trawling and anchoring. Sunken ships and munitions areas effectively serve as protected areas – they are not national parks, but nearly any kind of human activity is banned, states Vedenin. Consequently a numerous of organisms that are otherwise rare or decreasing, such as the Baltic cod, are thriving.
Future Issues
Anywhere warfare has occurred in the recent history, nearby oceans are typically littered with weapons, explains Vedenin. Millions of tons of dangerous substances lie in our marine environments.
The locations of these munitions are poorly mapped, in part because of national borders, restricted defense data and the fact that records are buried in historical records. They present an detonation and security danger, as well as threat from the continuous emission of poisonous compounds.
As Germany and different states begin extracting these relics, experts aim to protect the habitats that have formed around them. In the Bay of Lübeck munitions are presently being removed.
It would be wise to substitute these steel remains originating from munitions with certain less dangerous, some safe structures, like maybe concrete structures, suggests Vedenin.
He currently hopes that what transpires in the Bay of Lübeck creates a model for replacing habitats after munitions removal elsewhere – because also the most damaging explosives can become scaffolding for new life.
