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

Caves 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.