Notes on the sea caves of sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 136-145
Author(s):  
Stephen Harris ◽  
Geof Copson ◽  
Louisa d'Arville
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Marine Origin ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Coastal Terrace

ABSTRACTCaves of marine origin occur in tectonically uplifted stacks on the coastal terrace and in plateau edge cliffs at a number of locations around Macquarie Island. Some of the caves have been located and their distributions mapped. Four of the best known caves are mapped in detail. Aspects of their geology, structure and biology, including speleothem development, clastic deposits, faunal remains and subfossil deposits are explored. Many of these caves contain deposits, which may have the potential to be investigated, as beach and peat deposits have been, for dating key time periods in the island's evolution. The palaeoenvironmental research potential of the sea caves on Macquarie Island has yet to be exploited. Further knowledge about these caves will assist in the understanding of the processes that have acted on Macquarie Island and other polar and sub-polar islands.

A SURVEY OF VIRUS INFECTION IN SUB-ANTARCTIC PENGUINS ON MACQUARIE ISLAND, SOUTHERN OCEAN

1981 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 333-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. R. Morgan ◽  
H. A. Westbury ◽  
I. W. Caple ◽  
J. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Virus Infection ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Macquarie Island

Fur seal skull from sealers' quarters at Sandy Bay, Macquarie Island, Southern Ocean

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (162) ◽  
pp. 245-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Townrow ◽  
P. D. Shaughnessy
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Arctocephalus Gazella ◽  
Archaeological Excavation ◽  
Antarctic Fur Seal ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Fur Seal ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Specific Identity

AbstractFur seals were exterminated from Macquarie Island about 20 years after discovery of the island in 1810. Their specific identity is unknown. Few fur seals were reported at the island until it was occupied by the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions in 1948. Fur seal numbers are now increasing. An archaeological excavation at a sealers' quarters at Sandy Bay in 1988 revealed the fragmented skull of a young Antarctic fur sealArctocephalus gazella1.1 m below the surface in a layer dated in the 1870s and 1880s. This period coincides with the recovery of fur seal populations in the South Atlantic Ocean following earlier harvesting. Elsewhere it has been argued that the Antarctic fur seal is unlikely to have been the original fur seal at Macquarie Island because few individuals of that species are ashore in winter, which is the season when the island was discovered and fur-seal harvesting began. It is concluded that the Sandy Bay skull is from a vagrant animal.

Accumulation of Fishing Debris, Plastic Litter, and Other Artefacts, on Heard and Macquarie Islands in the Southern Ocean

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Slip ◽  
Harry R. Burton
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Catchment Area ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Minimum Rate ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Heard Island

Sections of coastline of Heard and Macquarie Islands were surveyed for marine debris in the summer of 1987–88 and 1989, respectively. These surveys were carried out at the same sites as previous surveys in 1986–87 at Heard Island, and in 1988 at Macquarie Island. The minimum rate of artefact accumulation was 13 objects per km of shoreline per year for Heard Island, and 90 objects per km of shoreline per year for Macquarie Island. Drift-cards, released from known locations and collected on the two islands, show a similar artefact catchment area.Plastic litter was a major component of the debris at both islands. Fisheries-related debris accounted for 40% of all artefacts on Heard Island, compared with 29% on Macquarie Island. Entanglement of Fur Seals appears to be more common at Heard Island, while plastic ingestion by seabirds appears to be more common at Macquarie Island.

Collembola. Loricata. Brachiopoda. Coleoptera. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Sir Douglas Mawson.H. Womersley , B. C. Cotton , H. WomersleyCumacea and Nebaliacea. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Sir Douglas Mawson.H. M. HaleDiptera. Miscellaneous Insecta. Lepidoptera. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Sir Douglas Mawson.H. Womersley , N. B. TindalePolychaeta. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Sir Douglas Mawson.C. C. A. MonroOpiliones and Araneae. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.V. V. HickmanCrinoidea. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.D. Dilwyn JohnEndoprocta. B.A.N.Z. Antarctic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.T. Harvey Johnston , L. Madeline AngelNemerteans of Kerguelen and the Southern Ocean. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.J. F. G. WheelerDecapod Crustacea. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.Herbert M. HalePycnogonida. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.Isabella GordonParasitic Nematodes. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.T. Harvey Johnston , Patricia M. MawsonIsopoda-Valvifera. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.Herbert M. HaleSipunculids. The Mollusca of Macquarie Island (Gastropods and Bivalves). B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Douglas Mawson.A. C. Stephen , J. R. Le B. TomlinPlankton of the Australian-Antartic Quadrant. Part I. Net-Plankton Volume Determination. B.A.N.Z. Antartic Research Expedition 1929-1931 Under the Command of Sir Douglas Mawson.Keith Sheard

1951 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-72
Author(s):  
L. H. Hyman
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Volume Determination ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Antarctic Research

scholarly journals An evaluation of COSMIC radio occultation data in the lower atmosphere over the Southern Ocean

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 9771-9801
Author(s):  
L. B. Hande ◽  
D. H. Lenschow ◽  
S. T. Siems ◽  
M. J. Manton
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Cosmic Radio ◽  
Atmospheric Measurements ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Extensive Evaluation ◽  
Break Points

Abstract. The Global Positioning System (GPS) Radio Occultation (RO) method is a relatively new technique for taking atmospheric measurements for use in both weather and climate studies. As such, this technique needs to be evaluated for all parts of the globe. Here, we present an extensive evaluation of the performance of the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) GPS RO observations of the Southern Ocean boundary layer. The two COSMIC products used here are the "wetPrf" product, which is based on 1-D variational analysis with European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the "atmPrf" product, which contains the raw measurements from COSMIC. A direct comparison of temporally and spatially co-located COSMIC profiles and high resolution radiosonde profiles from Macquarie Island (54.62° S, 158.85° E) highlights weaknesses in the ability of both COSMIC products to identify the boundary layer structure, as identified by break points in the refractivity profile. In terms of reproducing the temperature and moisture profile in the lowest 2.5 km, the "wetPrf" COSMIC product does not perform as well as an analysis product from the ECMWF. A further statistical analysis is performed on a large number of COSMIC profiles in a region surrounding Macquarie Island. This indicates that, statistically, COSMIC performs well at capturing the heights of main and secondary break points. However the frequency of break points detected is lower than the radiosonde profiles suggest, but this could be simply due to the long horizontal averaging in the COSMIC measurements. There is also a weak seasonal cycle in the boundary layer height, providing some confidence in the ability of COSMIC to detect an important boundary layer variable.

The diet of itinerant male Hooker's sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive R. McMahon ◽  
Dave Holley ◽  
Susan Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Teleost Fish ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Primary Component ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Sea Lions ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
Prey Items ◽  
Phocarctos Hookeri

Scats were collected from itinerant male Hooker's sea lions, Phocarctos hookeri, at Macquarie Island and the uneroded faunal remains used to assess the diet. Uneroded sagittal otoliths were used to identify teleost fish and to calculate fish size. Prey items included 14 taxa of teleost fish, cephalopods, gastropods, crustaceans and fur seals. Fish constituted the primary component of the diet. Prey species previously uncommon in the diet of seals and penguins around Macquarie Island were commonly eaten by Hooker's sea lions. The sub-Antarctic horse fish (Zanclorhynchus spinifer) and the Patagonian tooth fish (Dissostichus eleginoides) were the two most abundant species and occurred in 62.5% and 41.7% of all scats respectively. There were no age-specific and individual differences in the diet of sea lions. Seasonal variances in diet were absent. Small plastic fragments (diameter ∼1 mm) were found only in association with otoliths of Electrona subaspera. Some overlap was seen between the diet of itinerant male Hooker's sea lions and the commercial fisheries that currently operate around Macquarie Island.

scholarly journals Understanding Orographic Effects on Surface Observations at Macquarie Island

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 2377-2395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhan Wang ◽  
Danijel Belusic ◽  
Yi Huang ◽  
Steven T. Siems ◽  
Michael J. Manton
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Macquarie Island ◽  
Orographic Effects ◽  
Precipitation Record ◽  
On This Island ◽  
Unique Nature ◽  
Meteorological Observations ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
Layer Flow

AbstractThe meteorological observations on Macquarie Island have become of increasing value for efforts to understand the unique nature of atmospheric processes over the Southern Ocean. While the island is of modest elevation (peak altitude of 410 m), the orographic effects on observations on this island are still not clear. High-resolution numerical simulations [Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model] with and without terrain have been used to identify orographic effects for four cases representing common synoptic patterns at Macquarie Island: a cold front, a warm front, postfrontal drizzle, and a midlatitude cyclone. Although the simulations cannot capture every possible feature of the precipitation, preliminary results show that clouds and precipitation can readily be perturbed by the island with the main enhancement of precipitation normally in the lee in accordance with the nondimensional mountain height being much less than 1. The weather station is located at the far north end of the island and is only in the lee to southerly and southwesterly winds, which are normally associated with drizzle. The station is on the upwind side for strong northwesterly winds, which are most common and can bring heavier frontal precipitation. Overall the orographic effect on the precipitation record is not found to be significant, except for the enhancement of drizzle found in southwesterly winds. Given the strong winds over the Southern Ocean and the shallow height of the island, the 3D nondimensional mountain height is smaller than 1 in 93.5% of the soundings. As a result, boundary layer flow commonly passes over the island, with the greatest impact in the lee.

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