Very large, deep water coral reef every one is talking about.

http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/pulley-ridge/

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...home-headlines
Deepest coral reef in US found near Tortugas

The Associated Press
Posted January 2 2005, 12:00 PM EST

Florida-based marine researchers have discovered the deepest coral
reef ever found in the United States.

The discovery in the Gulf of Mexico was confirmed in late December by
the U.S. Geological Survey, which called it ``a significant discovery
that may be unique.''

The reef lies in water that is about 250-feet deep, on Pulley Ridge, a
vast area west of the Dry Tortugas. The reef, part of which is about
50 miles west of the Dry Tortugas, is up to three miles wide and runs
for about 20 miles.

It was tentatively identified as a coral reef in 1999 by a team of
marine scientists from the University of South Florida, aboard the
research vessel Bellows, based in St. Petersburg. But it took several
more years of research to confirm it as a living reef that depends on
light filtering down from the surface.

``The corals on Pulley ridge are considerably healthier that corals
from shallow-water reefs nearly worldwide, including the Florida
Keys,'' the USGS said in a late December news release announcing the
confirmation.

Although reefs form in the darkest ocean depths, Pulley Ridge is the
deepest yet found that is ``photosynthetic,'' depending on light
filtered through clear water from the surface.

``We were all blown away by this bizarre, flat, living sea floor
covered with blue and brown corals and lettuce-like green algae,''
research Bret Jarrett said of seeing live video from an unmanned
submersible on one of the return research trips. They had expected to
see some coral, but not that much, he told the St. Petersburg Times
for a story in Sunday editions.

The video revealed a stunning number of fish, both deep and shallow
water species: giant red grouper, scamp, damselfish, angelfish, rock
beauty, hogfish and bass.

Other researchers include Al Hine of USF's College of Marine Science,
Bob Halley of the USGS and Stan Locker, a USF geophysicist.

Shallow-water reefs tend to grow vertically, like those off the
Florida Keys. Pulley Ridge coral grows flat because it has adapted to
the low light.

``Corals require light to grow, and so they spread out laterally as
opposed to vertically,'' Jarrett said. ``They've adapted to the
situation, they've maximized the sunlight.''

Officials who oversee the gulf are now wondering how to preserve the
reef in its pristine state, to keep it from being damaged by people
who might want to exploit, its riches.

``In the last 20 to 30 years, coral reefs have just taken a beating,''
Halley said of the health of other coral reefs, in general. ``They're
dying.''

Halley has presented the group's research to the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council, which will decide in the coming months
whether to restrict fishing or trawling in the area. A public hearing
is scheduled for Tuesday in Key West.

Pulley Ridge has already been designated by the council as a Habitat
Area of Particular Concern this year.

``I think it's in pretty good shape right now,'' Halley said. ``But
eventually, people will start impacting it if it's not protected in
some way.''

Too cool. Halimeda at 250 feet...zooxanthellate corals...that
deep....and here we sit with 5 million watt MH lights...bg


"kryppy" wrote in message
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