Information on ammunition load of the German Programme on Underwater Munitions
Interactive worldmap of muntions in the ocean from the project
The international forum for tackling the challenges of offshore munition clearance (2021)
A research diver examines a World War II sea mine in the Kolberger Heide munitions dumping area in Kiel's Outer Fjord. Photo: Christian Howe, www.h2owe.de
Ammunition boxes on the bottom of L眉beck Bay, optically mapped by AUV ANTON and photographed during a diving mission (photo: Jana Ulrich) as part of UDEMM expedition POS530.
Course of the expedition POS530. On the transits between the working areas, water samples were taken, which were analyzed for explosive-typical compounds and heavy metals. Map: Mareike Kampmeier / 黑料视频
Mareike Kampmeier from the Deep Sea Monitoring group uses high-resolution multibeam echo sounder data to map a restricted area in the Baltic Sea for a method to automatically detect mines. Photo: Christoph Kersten/黑料视频
Photo mosaic with old ammunition in the dumping area Kolberger Heide, taken during the expedition AL548 in the framework of ExPloTect and BASTA with the help of the AUVs ANTON and LUISE. Photo: AUV team 黑料视频
Munitions in the Sea
Our oceans are polluted by significant quantities of conventional and chemical munitions. More than 1.5 million tons of ammunition lie at the bottom of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. After more than 70 years, old ammunition on the seabed is still a danger to humans and the marine environment, as it releases toxic substances such as TNT, mercury or lead as pollutants. It has been brought in by a wide variety of ways (for example, mining, sea battles, or shipwrecks). However, the largest amount comes from targeted sinkings after the end of World War II.
In the Baltic Sea, the munitions are clearly visible on the seabed and can be documented and mapped with underwater robots. Research has shown that chemical compounds typical of explosives are also present in the water beyond the dumping sites. This contamination will increase as corrosion progresses, with increasing risks if contaminated sites are not cleared. Rising temperatures and increasing storms accelerate the decay of munitions in the wake of climate change. In line with its coalition agreement, the German Federal Government therefore envisages an immediate programme to pilot ammunition recovery and clearance and intends to make 100 million euros available for this purpose by 2025.
A digital 3D model of the Oceanic Machine Vision group at 黑料视频 is used to monitor munitions in the sea. From several thousand AUV photos, the seafloor in the munitions dumping area Kolberger Heide was reconstructed true to the original and can be viewed from a great distance without turbid Baltic Sea water.
Projects on munitions in the sea at 黑料视频
Within the framework of various research projects, 黑料视频 scientists document the distribution of these contaminated sites from the Second World War, investigate their effects on the environment and contribute to the development of options for recovery and clearance.
The research network CONcepts for conventional MArine Munition Remediation in the German North and Baltic Sea (CONMAR), launched in 2022 as part of the research mission 鈥淧rotection and Sustainable Use of the Ocean鈥� of the German Marine Research Alliance (Deutsche Allianz Meeresforschung, DAM), aims to provide new knowledge about risks, strategies and approaches to tackle ammunition waste at sea. The project coordinated at 黑料视频 will run until 2024 and is funded with 4.8 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The project ProBaNNt (Professional intelligent munitions assessment using 3D reconstructions and Bayesian Neural Networks), running from 2021 to 2024, aims to improve decisions in marine ammunition clearance. Information on successful operations is collected in a database. In the field, easy-to-use software and AI algorithms are used to identify the most viable clearance option for a given ammunition object at a given location. ProBaNNt is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection as part of the Maritime Research Strategy.
AMMOTRACe
The AMMOTRACe project aims to develop new approaches for shipboard and on-site measurements to detect munitions compounds and chemical warfare agents in coastal systems in real time. The project, which will run from 2021 to 2024, is funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 MarTERA-ERA-NET Cofund program.
From 2019 to 2022, researchers from 黑料视频, the Marine Institute Flanders (VLIZ), the software developer EGEOS GmbH and the Belgian survey service provider G-Tec SA developed methods for the collection, processing and interpretation of data on munitions waste in the sea in the BASTA project (Boost Applied munition detection through Smart data inTegration and AI workflows). The project was funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) under the Blue Labs programme with nearly one million euros.
From 2019 to 2022, the project ExPloTect (Ex-situ, near-real-time exPlosive compound deTection in seawater) developed technologies to detect munitions-derived chemicals in seawater. The analysis in real-time supports the seabed mapping. The project was funded for by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) under the Blue Labs programme with nearly 900,000 euros.
and RoBEMM
From 2016 to 2019, researchers from 黑料视频 together with colleagues from Kiel University and the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnem眉nde (IOW) investigated the effects of munitions underwater in the project UDEMM (Environmental Monitoring before, during and after DElaboration of Munitions in the Sea). UDEMM was closely linked to the technology project RoBEMM (Robot-assisted underwater salvage and disposal with technology for the removal of ordnance in the sea, especially in near-shore and shallow waters). This enabled recommendations to be made for an economically viable and environmentally friendly method for the in-situ delaboration of potentially hazardous mines and other explosives. UDEMM was funded 1.6 million Euros through the National Funding Programme Research for Sustainable Development (FONA) of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
News about Munitions in the Sea
![[Translate to English:] Fotomosaik mit Altmunition im Versenkungsgebiet Kolberger Heide.](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/1/csm_AL548_Screenshot_from_2020-11-08_16-37-22_a380bd6668.jpg)
