ABSTRACT
Introduction The seaward side of the Florida Keys Reef Tract drops off precipitously, at an acute angle, into the deep waters of the Florida Strait. This plunging, angled slope begins at depths of around 30 m and eventually reaches a terminus in a zone of large stepped ledges and intervening caves at depths of around 100 m. Characteristically, the deep fore-reef area is composed of slabs of coral and masses of coral rubble that have become fused together by sclerosponges and interstitial hexactinellid sponges, producing a stable talus slope. The component coral slabs are the remnants of the reef destruction that takes place during hurricanes and violent storms, when large blocks of coral break off in the heavy surf and tumble down the fore-reef slope. Here, they are cemented together and eventually accumulate enough carbonate rubble to form the substrate for new coral growth. In this way, the reef tract is continuously growing in a seaward direction, with a deterministic growth pattern that eventually will create new reef systems, coral cays, and ultimately, land.
