Scientists find marine life on WWII explosives

An undersea submersible has spotted crabs, worms and fish thriving on the surfaces of World War II explosives thought to be toxic to marine life.

- BY ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN

SEA CREATURES are thriving on dumped World War II weapons thought to be toxic in the Baltic Sea.

(ANDREY VEDENIN Associated Press)

At a former weapons dump site in the Baltic Sea, scientists found more creatures living on top of warheads than in the surrounding seabed.

"We were prepared to see significantly lower numbers of all kinds of animals," said study author Andrey Vedenin with the Senckenberg Research Institute in Germany. "But it turned out the opposite."