A hundred mile south of the Texas - Louisiana border lies one of the small yet most singular Marine National Sanctuaries in US waters — and scientists are disquieted that its vibrant Witwatersrand could be devastated as floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey start to spill in .
A ‘ secret garden ’ deposit along the edge of the continental shelf , theFlower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuaryfeatures rolling hills of bright - colored sponges and coral , include some of healthy populations of stony coral left the Caribbean . The sanctuary is a hotbed of marine biodiversity , home to manta beam of light , sea turtles , hammerheads , whale shark , and a panoply of diminished fish and invertebrates . “ No one has discover about it , but it ’s a really salient place , ” Rice University biologistAdrienne Correatold Earther .
The reefs of Flower Garden Banks have held up remarkably well even as nearby Caribbean Witwatersrand decline in health due to disease , befoulment , and climate alteration . But the ecosystem has also taken some late hits , including a 2016 dice - off in East Flower Garden Bank , which Correa saysmight have been partially triggeredby an influx of impudent water from Houston ’s “ Tax Day Floods ” last April . That ’s part of the understanding scientists are now concerned that floodwaters from Harvey , which dumped 13 trillion gallon of rainfall over southeast Texas in August , could create problems for the delicate ecosystem .
“ With Harvey , fundamentally we consider twice the intensity of the Great Salt Lakes dumped on the Texas seashore , ” Correa said . “ This water all runs off and roll up on the Texas ledge . ”
On September 28th , an ocean buoy maintained by Texas A&M Universitymeasureda 10 percent drop-off in salinity at Flower Garden Banks , from 36 to 32 part per thousand . While salinity levels had ricochet by October 4th , it ’s potential that this was the first in a string of fresh water pulses that ’ll ooze into the saltwater - conform sanctuary from Harvey ’s massive feather .
Along with researchers from the University of Houston - Clear Lake , Texas A&M and Boston Universities , Correa is headed out to the Witwatersrand next week to see whether the freshwater beat caused any damage . The scientists will be look at water alchemy , and the composition of microbic communities both in the water and on the corals and parasite , for signs that the Witwatersrand are stressed .
But the first sign of bother could be something much starker .
“ in spades the biggest headache is a aggregative mortality event out on the reef , ” Correa said . “ If it ’s anything like what we meet in 2016 , all of the invertebrate and trivial Pisces can be kill very quickly if there ’s an yield with water lineament . ”
“ The mo we dive on the reef , we ’ll be able to see visually if there ’s a mass mortality , ” she added .
While Correa and her colleagues are concerned with problems arising from changes in salinity , Harvey ’s floodwatersalso accumulated toxic pollutants and raw sewageas they slug over Houston and violate XII of industrial deftness . At this point , it ’s unclear whether contamination unleash by the storm poses a threat to shipboard soldier ecosystem .
“ surely , there are going to be abundant pollutants in what ran off , ” Correa said . But , she added , any Rand impact will depend on how much those pollutants got diluted , something that has n’t been studied yet .
Regardless of what encroachment Harvey ’s floodwaters have , Correa says one of the good fashion to ensure the long - full term natural selection of these Rand is to expatiate the sanctuary . presently , Flower Garden Banksonly encompasses threeof the dozens of reef banks break up along the northerly Gulf of Mexico ’s continental ledge . An expansion proposed last yr by NOAA would protect an additional 383 substantial mile of reefs .
“ Expanding the bound is n’t going to stop fresh water from extend to Flower Banks , ” Correa said . “ But it at least can give [ these ecosystems ] the best chance of staying at maximal health . ”
conservation
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