Macquarie Island
The Macquarie (English Macquarie Iceland or short Macca ) is a state of Tasmania to the Australian owned island in the southern Pacific Ocean, named after Lachlan Macquarie, one of the early governors of New South Wales. The island is due to their geological significance since 1997 as a World Heritage Site. It is one of the few places on Earth where the oceanic crust was lifted above the water surface. In the cool, maritime climate of growing plants as they occur similarly in the tundra.
The island belongs to the administrative area of the Huon Valley Municipality.
Geography
The Macquarie Island is located about 1500 km south-east of Tasmania and approximately 1300 km north of the Antarctic. The 128 km ² island is about 5 km wide and 34 km long. It is the highest crest of the submerged Macquarie Ridge, which is caused by the meeting of Australian and Pacific plate, and reached Mount Hamilton in the south of the island has a height of 433 meters above the sea.
320 meters west of the coast at North Head, the northern tip of the island on the North Head Peninsula, the 25 meter high rock lies Anchor skirt.
Also on the Macquarie Ridge are the rocky archipelagos Judge and Clerkinseln (13,9 km north of Macquarie Island ) and Bishop and Clerkinseln (24,4 km to the south ).
The climate is humid, stormy and cool. Depending on the altitude, the annual average temperature is between 0 and 4.4 degrees Celsius. A continuing cover with snow and ice does not exist.
The geological structure of the island is characterized mainly by igneous rocks. During the Discovery Expedition handpieces from dolerite and basaltic rocks were collected here. Later described Patrick Marshall finds more rock than diabase, and volcanic glass Porphyrite. The majority of the island's surface is covered with peat soils.
History
The Macquarie Island was discovered by accident on 11 July 1810 by the Australian Frederick Hasselborough, who had already discovered the Campbell Islands, in the search for new reasons for seal hunting. He claimed the island on July 11, 1810, first for the UK. It was first mapped by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, who explored the area on behalf of the Russian Tsar Alexander I.. He landed on November 28, 1820 on the island, established its geographical position and traded rum and food with sealers on the island against specimens of native wildlife.
At the onset of the seal hunt fur seals on the island were exterminated. Only in the first year of the seal hunt 80,000 fur seals were killed. Which extinct on Macquarie Pelzrobbenart it is, is unclear. The stocks of elephant seals and penguins hood fell significantly. 1870 Rabbits were introduced to the island. Other immigrant species were the already mentioned 1820 von Bellingshausen feral cats, in 1867 brought to the island Wekarallen and also here with the people arrived in rats and mice. From 1950 Mallards were settled. The new species had a significant effect on the native animal populations. The rabbits caused great damage to the vegetation of the island. As a result of changes in two native species died out. This affected the Macquarie - banded Rail, one occurring only on Macquarie subspecies of the banded Rail, as well as Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae erythrotis, a Parakeet subspecies.
The island was first made after its discovery under the administration of the Australian state of New South Wales. In 1890 she was assigned to the Australian state of Tasmania, but was until 1905 under the ownership of New Zealand. Between 1902 and 1920 the island to Joseph Hatch ( 1837-1928 ) was leased and used, 1911-1914 as the base for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition under the command of Douglas Mawson ( 1882-1958 ). The meteorological station was from 1911 to 1913 under the leadership of George Ainsworth. From 1913 to 1914 she was directed by Harold Power and from 1914 until its closure in 1915 of Tullock. In 1933, Macquarie was provided as a game reserve for the first time under protection. On December 26, 1947, the island was eventually appropriated to the Australian government. The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions ( ANARE ) opened on May 25, 1948 research station on the island.
Modern Times
Since 1978, the Macquarie Island Nature Reserve is a state of Tasmania, Macquarie Iceland Nature Reserve, and since 1999 a part of a marine reserve in the Australian central government in 162,000 km ² Macquarie Iceland Commonwealth Marine Reserve.
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD ) has a permanent base, the Macquarie station on the island, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage since 1997. Each spring, thousands of sea birds land here to breed, as king, gentoo and rockhopper penguins. Biologists in particular, the ways of life of hood penguins and elephant seals are studied. In the summer months, live and work about 40 people on the island, in the winter months about 20 people ( as of 2004). In December 1987, the ship Nella Dan sank off the island.
On 23 December 2004, one of the world public hardly noticed earthquake of magnitude 8.1 that caused no major damage occurred. Some geologists believe that this quake was a more or less direct trigger of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004.
In September 2006, caused rabbits in the Lusitania Bay on the east coast of the island a severe landslide. In this countless birds, especially penguins hatched at this bay, killed. The rabbits had the ground so severely eroded that he came as a result of the heavy rain that occurs during the spring to slide.
Background of this incident is that by 2000 all 160 previously living on the island of feral cats had been shot down. Then the rabbits of about 4000 copies increased in 2000 to around 130,000 in late 2008. Their buildings and their food intake until then destroyed about 40 percent of the vegetation.
As a result, a program was implemented from 2007, which has not only the eradication of rabbits, but also by ship rats and mice to the target and to be completed by 2015. If successful, the island would be free of all entrained mammals.
Flora and Fauna
The sub-Antarctic meadows of the island are called because of their appearance in part as tundra, although the milder climate and the lack of permafrost soils differ significantly from the typical tundra. The assignment of the vegetation is therefore non-uniform in the literature. On Macquarie 35 species of flowering plants have been found, including tussock grass, Poa foliosa as well as Poa both hamiltonii, Macquariekohl ( Stilbocarpa polaris ) and Azorella.
On the island there are also back on fur seals and the Sub-Antarctic Fur Seal. In the bird world, the endemic Macquariescharbe (Phalacrocorax purpurascens ) and the eyebrow duck should be mentioned. The hood penguin breeds almost exclusively on this island. The one on the island today also occurring songbirds Redpoll and Star immigrated from New Zealand, where they were, however, brought people from Europe.
Gallery
Flora slightly inland
Fighting male elephant seals
Hood penguin colony
Macquariescharbe
King Penguin Lusitania Bay
Rockhopper Penguin
Dunkelalbatros
Macquarie station
Wandering
Green Gorge Hut, hut the Australian Antarctic Office