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Bright Bank
Bright Bank is a salt dome bank approximately 19 km east of the East Flower Garden Bank in the Gulf of Mexico. A coral cap that rises to within 35 meters of the surface tips the bank. The coral cap is littered with discarded salvage equipment. Treasure salvers, in search of Spanish treasure from a galleon thought to have sunk here, have dug two large excavation holes. 
Location on Continental Shelf: Outer-Shelf Bank Coordinates: 27.83° N 93.30° W Nearest Largest City: Galveston, Texas, USA Selected Characteristics: Minimum Depth: 35 m Community Structure: The community structure at Bright Bank consists mainly of coralline algae and extensive drowned reef formations. Most of the coral caps are covered with lettuce corals and star corals. Recent bathymetry data also reveal a previously unknown feature, a mud volcano. An isolated reef spire occurring on the main portion of Bright Bank and pock marks indicating hydrocarbon seeps are among the features that have been recently identified. Geological Characterization: Bright Bank is a surface expression of salt diapers capped by living coral reefs. The small coral cap occurring at the bank is a flat plain interrupted by siltstone mounds. References: Coleman, Clay - Bright Bank, Gulf of Mexico. Available on the web at: http://claycoleman.tripod.com/id149.htm The Hydrographic Society of America. Available on the web at: http://www.thsoa.org/hy03/2_2.pdf Additional Information: Clay Coleman - Bright Bank, Gulf of Mexico The Hydrographic Society of America - High-resolution multibeam mapping and habitat characterization of topographic features in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Keywords: Coralline algae, Siltstone, Mud volcano, Salt dome, Star coral, Lettuce coral, Hydrocarbon seep |
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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. |
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