Post-Hurricane Assessment at the East Flower Garden Bank Long-Term Monitoring Site: November 2005

摘要

The Flower Garden Banks (FGB), located 110 miles from shore in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, form part of a discontinuous arc of reef environments along the edge of the outer continental shelf. These coral reef banks are the largest charted calcareous banks in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and are the northernmost coral reefs on the continental shelf of North America. The MMS assessed damage to the East Flower Garden Bank (EFGB) caused by the passage of Hurricane Rita. This was a cooperative effort with the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Hurricane Rita passed within 50 miles of the EFGB on September 23, 2005. It was rated a Category 3 hurricane at the time of its passage with winds up to 125 mph. The closest weather buoy, located 143 miles west of the Flower Garden Banks, recorded wave heights close to 20 feet. Waves at the EFGB may have been up to 50 feet in height.