| You are here: GulfBase > Reefs, Banks & Islands > Stetson Bank | • | |
 |
||
 |
  |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
Stetson Bank
Stetson Bank is located 48 km northwest of the Flower Gardens. It was added to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) in October 1996. The sanctuary serves as a biological reservoir of Caribbean species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Temperatures at Stetson Bank are a few degrees cooler in winter than in the Flower Gardens. The bank supports an extraordinary fish community. Recreational scuba diving and fishing are common activities within the sanctuary. Some parts of the sanctuary are grandfathered in for oil and gas production. 
Location on Continental Shelf: Mid-Shelf Bank Coordinates: 28.15° N 94.28° W Nearest Largest City: Galveston, Texas, USA Selected Characteristics: Area of Coverage: 3 km2 Width: 0.3 km Length: 0.8 km Minimum Temperature: 18oC Maximum Temperature: 30oC Minimum Salinity: 31 ppt Maximum Salinity: 36 ppt Community Structure: The cooler winter temperature at Stetson Bank relative to the Flower Gardens prevents coral reefs to thrive. Instead, scattered coral colonies with a dominant sponge community occur. Geological Characterization: Stetson Bank is a surface expression of salt diapers capped by uplifted layers of claystone and sandstone, which have eroded at unequal rates to create a strange "moonscape" appearance. It is among the smallest of the mid-shelf banks in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is a pelagic zone feature with clay/siltstone bedrock. References: Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.2003. URL: http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/about/facts.html GEMS - FGBNMS.2003. URL: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/texaswater/txgems/flowerga/flowerga.htm NOAA. 2002. The State of Coral Reef Ecosystems of the United States and Pacific Freely Associated States. URL: http://www.nccos.noaa.gov/documents/status_coralreef.pdf Additional Information: GEMS - Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) National Marine Sanctuaries Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) The National Marine Sanctuaries Gulf of Mexico Region - Environmental Information Keywords: Coral, Sponge, Bank, Salt diaper, Fish community |
|
|||||||||
 |
|
Update this reef, bank or island's info (restricted access) |
|
|||||||||
 |
GulfBase is a project of the
Harte
Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
To give proper credit to the original authors, please cite information taken from GulfBase by the original source as displayed. 
To cite GulfBase, use:
F. Moretzsohn, J.A. Sánchez Chávez,
and J.W. Tunnell, Jr., Editors. 2013.
GulfBase: Resource Database for Gulf of Mexico Research.
World Wide
Web electronic publication. http://www.gulfbase.org, 22 May 2013. |
|
|
| You are visitor
|
GulfBase Team Contact Info |