Macquarie Island Aerobiology and Wind Climate Project: Phase 3

From the abstract of the referenced paper: Analyses of data collected during the summer of 1979-80 from pollen traps and a flag tatter experiment along a transect across Macquarie Island, between Bauer Bay and Sandy Bay, suggest that the most sheltered locations are in the lee of prominent ridges, especially below the eastern coastal cliff tops, but also, paradoxically, on the lower slopes of the windward (west) coast.

The presence of feldmark community pollen grains from 'downwind' and higher altitudes in the west coast pollen traps indicates that, during the period here documented, the island formed a topographic barrier such that when there were winds from westerly quarters of sufficient velocity, not only would the predictable lee side rotor circulations have been produced, but also a trapped windward (west coast) rotor that, at low altitudes, would have run counter to the prevailing winds.