The Flower Garden Banks (FGBs), located in the Gulf of Mexico due south of the Texas-Louisiana border, are protrusive, ocean-floor diapirs. These features, which occur widely around the Gulf’s coastal plains and continental shelf, are caused by dome-shaped extrusions of salt deposits into the strata above them. The FGBs are distinct and merit analysis on account of the peculiarity of their fate in the Anthropocene Era in a region that has been heavily exploited and impacted by both offshore oil-drilling and by commercial and recreational fishing. Unlike many other diapirs, the FGBs have benefitted from perception, identification, and characterisation as distinct islands (in the biogeographical sense of the term), and from their successful nomination as a US National Marine Sanctuary (NMS). This article reflects on these aspects with regard to the nature of and criteria informing the US Act that enabled the creation of NMSs; the key concept of ‘sanctuaries’ involved; and the manner in which the FGBs have been conceived, protected, and represented under the Act. Attention is also accorded to the manner in which the FGBs have been represented in various media and how this effectively creates them for the general public. Drawing on these discussions, the article identifies both the complexity involved in conceptualising a submarine space as an NMS and the fragility of such sanctuaries in the late Anthropocene and, more specifically, during a period of political turmoil within the nation-state that established them.

中文翻译：

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1敌对矩阵中的庇护岛：墨西哥湾花园银行国家海洋庇护所的感知，表征和保护

位于德克萨斯州-路易斯安那州边界以南的墨西哥湾的花园银行（FGB）是突起的海底生物。这些特征广泛出现在墨西哥湾的沿海平原和大陆架周围，是由于穹顶状的盐沉积物挤压到它们上方的地层而引起的。由于在人类世时代这个地区的命运的特殊性，FGB具有独特性和优点，因为该地区受到海上石油钻探以及商业和休闲捕鱼的严重开发和影响。与许多其他隔离区不同，FGB得益于感知，识别和表征为独特的岛屿（从术语的生物地理意义上）以及成功地被提名为美国国家海洋保护区（NMS）。本文对这些方面的内容进行了反思，它们涉及了能够创建NMS的《美国法》的性质和标准。涉及“庇护所”的关键概念；以及根据该法案构思，保护和代表FGB的方式。还应注意FGB在各种媒体中的代表方式以及如何有效地为公众创建FGB。在这些讨论的基础上，本文确定了将潜艇空间概念化为NMS所涉及的复杂性，以及人类世末期，尤其是在建立它们的民族国家的政治动荡时期，此类避难所的脆弱性。以及根据该法案构思，保护和代表FGB的方式。还应注意FGB在各种媒体中的代表方式以及如何有效地为公众创建FGB。在这些讨论的基础上，本文确定了将潜艇空间概念化为NMS所涉及的复杂性，以及人类世末期，尤其是在建立它们的民族国家的政治动荡时期，此类避难所的脆弱性。以及根据该法案构思，保护和代表FGB的方式。还应注意FGB在各种媒体中的代表方式以及如何有效地为公众创建FGB。在这些讨论的基础上，本文确定了将潜艇空间概念化为NMS所涉及的复杂性，以及人类世末期，尤其是在建立它们的民族国家的政治动荡时期，此类避难所的脆弱性。