Comparison of deep-water coral reefs and lithoherms off southeastern USA
Comparison of deep-water coral reefs and lithoherms off southeastern USA
复制标题
美国东南部深水珊瑚礁和石质珊瑚的比较
作者：
J. Reed
两种类型的深水珊瑚生物礁出现在美国东南部海岸：Oculina和Lophelia/Enallopsammia。在佛罗里达中东部沿陆架边缘70-100米深处，深海生物礁形成了一个广泛的珊瑚礁系统。这些礁石由许多尖塔和山脊组成，高度为3-35米。每个尖顶都是一堆未固结的沉积物和珊瑚碎片，覆盖在斜坡上，顶部是活的和死的珊瑚群，即象牙树珊瑚。相比之下，Lophelia pertusa和Enallopsammia profunda珊瑚的深水珊瑚礁出现在佛罗里达海峡佛罗里达-哈特拉斯斜坡底部500-850米的深度（最大150米的深度）。在南卡罗莱纳和乔治亚州的布莱克高原西部边缘，54米高的Enallopsammia和Lophelia河岸位于490-550米的深度，而在高原东部边缘，珊瑚礁形成了146米高、640-869米深的结构。Oculina和Lophelia珊瑚礁的地貌和功能结构相似。在小巴哈马岸的北部，在1000-1300米深处，有一个生物礁区，主要是珊瑚虫；据说罗菲莉亚缺席了。本文总结了25年来对深海Oculina礁的潜水研究，描述了美国东南部深海Lophelia礁的潜水侦察，并将这些生物礁类型与巴哈马以西佛罗里达海峡的深水岩石滩进行了对比。
Two types of deep-water coral bioherms occur off the coast of southeastern United States: Oculina and Lophelia/Enallopsammia. The deep-water Oculina bioherms form an extensive reef system at depths of 70–100 m along the shelf edge off central eastern Florida. These reefs are comprised of numerous pinnacles and ridges, 3–35 m in height. Each pinnacle is a bank of unconsolidated sediment and coral debris that is capped on the slopes and crest with living and dead colonies of Oculina varicosa, the ivory tree coral. In comparison, deep-water reefs of Lophelia pertusa and Enallopsammia profunda corals occur at depths of 500–850 m (maximum 150-m relief) along the base of the Florida-Hatteras slope in the Straits of Florida. On the western edge of the Blake Plateau off South Carolina and Georgia, 54-m high banks of Enallopsammia and Lophelia occur at depths of 490–550 m, whereas on the eastern edge of the plateau the reefs form structures 146 m in height and at depths of 640–869 m. The geomorphology and functional structure of both the Oculina and Lophelia reefs are similar. North of Little Bahama Bank, at depths of 1000–1300 m, a region of bioherms is dominated by the coral Solenosmilia sp.; Lophelia is reportedly absent. This paper summarizes 25 years of submersible studies on the deep-water Oculina reefs, describes submersible reconnaissance of deep-water Lophelia reefs off the southeastern United States, and contrasts these types of bioherms with the deep-water lithoherms in the Straits of Florida west of the Bahamas.