Studies of living reefs along the shelf edge off eastern Florida and the Bahamas suggest the interrelation of physical, biological, and geological processes. JOHNSON-SEA-LINK submersibles were used to sample corals and sediment with a manipulator or by lock-out diving. Videotape and 35 mm cameras, CTD system, and transmissometer were used to document the dives. Sediment traps, light meters, time-lapse camera, thermographs, and current meters were deployed and recovered. A 222 km long reef system of discontinuous pinnacles capped with living and dead Oculina coral was studied off Florida. Upwelling may contribute to growth and community structure of the reef system. Growth rates of the coral averaged 1.6 cm/yr and the coral harbors diverse faunal assemblages. Each pinnacle produces carbonate sediment and traps mud sized particles. Sand and gravel particles are not transported far from the reefs. On the margin of Little Bahama Bank sediment traps were also deployed to study sediment transport through reef notches from shallow to deep water. Average sediment flux over the edge of the wall was 1.34 kg notch-1 yr-1. Studies of living reefs along the shelf edge off eastern Florida and the Bahamas suggest the interrelation of physical, biological, and geological processes. JOHNSON-SEA-LINK submersibles were used to sample corals and sediment with a manipulator or by lock-out diving. Videotape and 35 mm cameras, CTD system, and transmissometer were used to document the dives. Sediment traps, light meters, time-lapse camera, thermographs, and current meters were deployed and recovered. A 222 km long reef system of discontinuous pinnacles capped with living and dead Oculina coral was studied off Florida. Upwelling may contribute to growth and community structure of the reef system. Growth rates of the coral averaged 1.6 cm/yr and the coral harbors diverse faunal assemblages. Each pinnacle produces carbonate sediment and traps mud sized particles. Sand and gravel particles are not transported far from the reefs. On the margin of Little Bahama Bank sediment traps were also deployed to study sediment transport through reef notches from shallow to deep water. Average sediment flux over the edge of the wall was 1.34 kg notch-1 yr-1
