Author Type

Faculty

Document Type

Article

Abstract

In September 2011, a three week research cruise was conducted by the Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research, and Technology (CIOERT) at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute-Florida Atlantic University (HBOI-FAU) in collaboration with NOAA. This CIOERT Florida Shelf-Edge Exploration II (FLoSEE) Cruise was conducted in two legs using the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster and the University of Connecticut’s (UCONN) Kraken 2 ROV. CIOERT is grateful for the funding and resources provided by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER), the NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP), and the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) in support of the research, ship time, and ROV time. This Preliminary Cruise Report is for Leg 1 of the cruise to characterize and document the habitat, benthic and fish communities, and to assess the coral health on southern Pulley Ridge and within the Pulley Ridge Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC); these sites are in the Gulf of Mexico on the southwest Florida shelf (Fig. 1). Leg 2 was on Pourtalès Terrace which is south of the Florida Keys and is reported separately. This Preliminary Cruise Report includes SEADESC Level I data analysis (Appendix 1) which describes in detail each ROV dive including: cruise metadata, figures showing each dive track overlaid on the new multibeam sonar maps, dive track data (start and end latitude, longitude, depth), objectives, general description of the habitat and biota, and images of the biota and habitat that characterize the dive site. The Final Cruise Report will include the SEADESC Level II Report which will provide for each dive site quantitative analyses detailing the densities of the benthic biota and CPCE 4.0© Coral Point Count for percent cover of substrate type and sessile biota.

Publication Date

2012

Comments

Florida Atlantic University. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute contribution #1854.

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