The implications for the deepwater benthos are just beginning to be investigated. Also, compared with the continental shelf, the northern Gulf of Mexico continental slope offers complex and rugged morphology including numerous submarine canyons and salt structures. Due to the water depth, true reef communities such as those seen on the shelf will not be present. However, there are some physiographic features whose benthic communities are practically unknown, including the Sigsbee and Campeche Escarpments. As additional information is obtained, new communities and resources may be encountered, and the MMS will need to evaluate their need for protection from oil and gas operations.
Chemosynthetic communities are a distinctive and widespread feature of the deepwater environment.
The amount of seafloor influenced by seepage is quite small compared to the extent of the subbottom hydrocarbon system, and industry engineers generally strive to avoid the unstable substrate at seeps. In addition, the MMS requires site-specific surveys for proposed bottom disturbing activities in water depths greater than 400 m to evaluate the potential for chemosynthetic communities. When such areas are identified, they are subsequently protected from physical disturbance from anchors, pipelines, chains, and templates. Current interest lies in improving the capacity to predict where seep communities will occur and in understanding processes that contribute to either stability or change in this environment so that anthropogenic changes could be distinguished from natural processes. Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. 2000.