By D. W. G. Kalani Tharanga, JadeTimes News
Robotic Solutions for Underwater Munitions Cleanup
More than 1.6 million tonnes of unexploded weapons from World War II pollute the North and Baltic Seas. Now, advanced technologies, including remote controlled seabed crawlers and robots with "smart grabbers," are being deployed to address this toxic legacy.
In northern Germany, a boxy robot navigates the seabed, using a metal claw to pick up rusting grenades dumped after World War II. Another robot scans the seabed from the surface, locating more munitions. This summer, a German government backed pilot project will test these technologies in a Baltic Sea bay to develop an efficient, large scale process for clearing munitions. This project is part of a €100 million program aimed at safely removing and destroying the estimated 1.6 million tonnes of explosives littering the German parts of these seas.
"The problem is that in every marine area where there was a war, there's munitions in the sea," says Jens Greinert, a professor at Christian Albrecht University and a researcher at the Geomar Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel. These rusting munitions release carcinogenic and other toxic substances over time, which have been detected in marine life like fish and mussels. The urgency to act is due to the increasing release of these harmful substances as the munitions continue to deteriorate.
The German government decided to tackle this issue after considering the need for a healthy marine ecosystem. Heike Imhoff, a marine conservation expert at Germany's environment ministry, states that the long term goal is to build an offshore platform where retrieved munitions can be safely destroyed. The project employs a range of technologies, including adapted remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and seabed crawlers, to quickly clear densely littered sites of mixed munitions.
Innovative Technologies and Environmental Impact
Traditionally, munitions have been cleared piecemeal, often for construction projects like wind farms. To avoid endangering human divers, robots are increasingly used for such tasks. The German pilot project, however, aims to clear munitions for environmental reasons, targeting dumping grounds on an industrial scale. This innovative approach involves operating 24/7 to clear Germany's waters of munitions within approximately 30 years, compared to the 150 years it would take using current methods.
The first phase of the project focuses on Lübeck Bay in the Baltic Sea, which contains around 400 submerged piles of munitions. The goal is to gain insights into automating and speeding up the process. Technologies adapted for this challenge include an ROV equipped with a camera to survey the seabed and "smart grabbers" with sensors for picking up various types of munitions.
These smart grabbers can gently or firmly handle munitions, depending on their condition. For instance, a crumbling crate of ammunition may require a grabber that can close into a bowl. The munitions are then placed into underwater metal baskets for sorting. This process operates around the clock, with specialists on shifts identifying and handling the munitions.
The problem of dumped munitions extends beyond the seabed. Unexploded ordnance can wash ashore or be found by beachcombers, posing significant risks. Offshore infrastructure projects, like wind farms, often encounter unexploded ordnance, complicating development. Precise mapping and surveying are crucial for these projects, often involving historical research and advanced technologies like ROVs.
Chemical munitions present another challenge. Post World War II, chemical weapons were also dumped into the sea, releasing toxic chemicals. Jacek Bełdowski, a researcher at the Polish Academy of Sciences, notes the difficulty of removing these munitions due to their quantity. Instead, monitoring and selective recovery are suggested based on stability and risk.
The German project’s success could pave the way for similar efforts globally. By integrating society, non profits, scientists, and politicians, the initiative aims to remove these munitions from German waters permanently, ensuring a safer and cleaner marine environment for the future.