I and II. Shipwrecks from World War II have been poisoning for 80 years

II. which sank with its poison-filled cargo during World War II and V-1302 John Mahn The wreckage of a ship bearing his name has since lay on the Belgian coast of the North Sea. Originally, it was a German fishing vessel, but was later redeployed as a patrol boat during World War II. Meanwhile, she was attacked and sunk by the British Royal Air Force in 1942.

In fact, the V-1302 is just one of the ships sunk during the First World War and the Second World War. Collectively, all these It is thought to contain about 20.4 million tons of petroleum artifacts.And that means that they are full of pollutants, although they are frightening.

The scientists took sediment samples from V-1302 and quickly from the seafloor around it to determine how these pollutants were affecting the environment. Analyzes revealed that the shipwreck continues to leak various toxic pollutants, including heavy metals such as nickel and copper, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (chemicals found in coal, crude oil and fuel oil), arsenic and explosive compounds.

Microbial assays not only change the pollutants in the immediate vicinity of the leaking shipwreck, but also revealed that it also altered the microbiome of the seabed.This is because some weird microbes (like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) Rhodobacteraceae, Rhodobacteraceae and Chromatiaceae) presence, and therefore they are found in higher concentrations in the middle of the most polluted areas.

another set of microbes desulphobulbiaSulphate-reducing bacteria, such as sulphate, live in the shipwreck and contribute to corrosion.

Scientists, ” Shipwrecks can function as artificial reefs and have immense historical value. However, we should not forget that they can be dangerous in this middle, and there may be human-made objects that are unintentionally introduced into the natural environment. ” says. Exactly for this reason today, discovered shipwrecks are now removed from the sea.