by Adithi Ramakrishnan with AP
It’s published
The submarine system has discovered crabs, insects and fish thriving on the surface of World War II explosives, which are thought to be toxic to marine life.
At a former weapons dump site in the Baltic Sea, scientists found creatures that live above the warheads rather than the surrounding seabed.
“We were prepared to see a significantly lower number of animals of all kinds,” said Andrei Wedenin, a research author at the Ssenkenberg Institute in Germany. “But that was the opposite.”
Past conflicts have left their mark on the oceans of the world, Vedenin said. Only the German sea It contains approximately 1.5 million tons of discarded weapons. Mainly from two world wars in the 20th century.
Discarded relics can include nuclear and chemical debris as well as explosives like TNTs.
Shipwrecks, weapons, wildlife
This is the latest example of wildlife thriving in contaminated areas. Previous studies have been shown Shipwreck and the previous weapon complexes filled with biodiversity.
In the new study, the researchers photographed anemones, starfish and other networks of underwater life in the Gulf of Lübeck off the German coast. They were hiding in fragments of the V-1 flying bomb used by Nazi Germany.
“We don’t usually study bomb ecology,” said James Porter, an ecologist at the University of Georgia.
The study was published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment on Thursday.
Why do sea creatures build homes with contaminated weapons? They can be attracted to hard surfaces. Baltic Sea.
Vedenin said the seabed is primarily a flat bed of mud and sand.
The area is also quite isolated from human activity due to chemicals, creating a somewhat protective bubble for the creatures to thrive, despite some toxic trade-offs.
Scientists want to calculate how much pollution has been absorbed by marine life. Another important next step is to see what happens once the creatures settle down and whether they can replicate it, Porter said.
Such research is proof that nature can use human leftovers and survive by turning the script over and surviving, marine conservation biologist David Johnston said at Duke University. He recently mapped a sinking World War I ship that has become wildlife habitat along the Potomac River in Maryland.
“I think it’s a really cool testimony to the strength of life,” Johnston said.