Algal, coral, and other data collected by ROV and scuba diver videography from M.V. FLING and M.V. SPREE for Post-Hurricane Assessment of Sensitive Habitats of the Flower Garden Banks Vicinity project from November 13, 2005 to June 23, 2007 (NCEI Accession 0061208)

The most active hurricane season on record in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico occurred in 2005, fueled by higher than normal sea-surface temperatures. Eleven tropical cyclones entered the Gulf of Mexico in 2005, including Hurricane Rita. Hurricane Rita was a Category 3 storm when it passed near the shelf edge banks on September 23, 2005. Several sensitive habitats within the northwestern Gulf of Mexico were close to the path of Hurricane Rita, including Sonnier, McGrail, Geyer, Bright, and East Flower Garden Banks. Hindcast hydrodynamic models estimated wave heights at 20-m or higher on these banks. This may have left some bank caps exposed, even at ~20- to 30-m depths. The implications for catastrophic damage to benthic community structure prompted the Minerals Management Service to characterize the banks in their post-hurricane state.

This study, using the data in NODC Accession 0061208, characterized and compared the benthic habitats of four banks (Sonnier, McGrail, Geyer, and Bright) and recorded possible hurricane damage at these banks and the East Flower Garden Bank (EFGB). At Sonnier, McGrail, Geyer, and Bright Banks, videographic records were collected by SCUBA and ROV in April and May 2007, at four depth ranges to assess benthic cover to the lowest possible taxonomic level: 22-27 m, 30-36.5 m, 45-50 m, and 55-60 m. Video transects were qualitatively assessed for evidence of hurricane damage. To document recovery from Hurricane Rita at the existing long-term monitoring site on the EFGB, repetitive quadrats and perimeter line surveys were conducted in November 2005 and compared to data collected subsequently in June 2006.