ROV Point Navigation from 2001 in the Pulley Ridge are in the Gulf of Mexico based on 5-min navigation

Pulley Ridge is a series of drowned barrier islands that extends almost 200 km in 60-100 m water depths. This drowned ridge is located on the Florida Platform in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico about 250 km west of Cape Sable, Florida. This barrier island chain formed during the initial stage of the Holocene marine transgression. These islands were then submerged and left abandoned near the outer edge of the Florida Platform. The southern portion of Pulley Ridge hosts zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, green, red and brown macro algae, and a mix of deep and typically shallow-water tropical fishes. This reef community is in unusually deep water, and its extent and the controls on its distribution were unknown. To address these questions scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program in cooperation with scientists from the University of South Florida Department of Marine Sciences have completed a detailed mapping of the southernmost 35 km of Pulley Ridge. The area was mapped using multibeam bathymetry, sidescan-sonar imagery, and high-resolution seismic-reflection profiling to define the geologic framework on which the reef is established. Submersible dives, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) transects, and transects of bottom photographs and video were collected to identify the corals and to map their distribution. This extensive suite of data has been compiled and preliminary analysis of the data suggests that the reefs are not tied to the ridge system, but instead are more broadly distributed. Whether reef distribution is controlled by oceanographic conditions or by subtle differences in the substrate that overlies the barrier island system is unclear, and are topics of continued research.

普利脊（Pulley Ridge）是一系列沉没障壁岛，在水深60至100米的海域延展近200千米。该沉没脊体坐落于墨西哥湾东南部的佛罗里达陆架（Florida Platform）之上，距离佛罗里达州萨布尔角（Cape Sable）以西约250千米处。该障壁岛链形成于全新世海侵的初始阶段，随后这些岛屿发生沉没，被遗弃在佛罗里达陆架的外缘附近。普利脊的南部区域分布有虫黄藻共生石珊瑚（zooxanthellate scleractinian corals）、绿、红、褐三种大型藻类，以及由深水鱼类与典型浅海热带鱼类混合组成的鱼群。该珊瑚礁群落所处的水深异乎寻常，其分布范围与控制其分布的因素此前尚不明确。为解答上述疑问，美国地质调查局海岸与海洋地质项目组的科研人员与南佛罗里达大学海洋科学系的学者合作，完成了普利脊最南端35千米区域的详细测绘工作。本次测绘采用多波束测深系统、侧扫声呐影像与高分辨率地震反射剖面测量技术，以明确该珊瑚礁所依托的地质构造框架。此外，科研人员还通过载人深潜、遥控水下机器人（ROV）断面调查以及海底照片与视频采集断面，完成了珊瑚种类鉴定与分布测绘工作。目前，这套海量数据集已完成整合汇编，初步分析结果显示，这些珊瑚礁并非依附于脊体系统分布，而是具有更广泛的分布范围。至于珊瑚礁的分布究竟受海洋水文条件调控，还是受障壁岛系统上覆基底的细微差异影响，目前仍无定论，这两个问题也将成为后续持续研究的课题。