Katia Krafft

Katia Krafft (born Catherine Joséphine Conrad, 17 April 1942 – 3 June 1991), was a French volcanologist who died in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen, in Japan, on June 3, 1991. Krafft was known for being a pioneer in filming, photographing, and recording volcanoes, often getting within feet of lava flows. She fell in love with volcanoes when she saw pictures of them and redirected her interest in education in geology. Using her love of volcanoes and photography, Krafft established a career as a volcanologist. Her up-close footage and data have been valuable to the study of active volcanoes.

Katia Krafft
Katia Krafft
Born
Catherine Joséphine Conrad

April 17, 1942
France
DiedJune 3, 1991(1991-06-03) (aged 49)
Mount Unzen, Japan 32°45′09.5″N 130°20′14.1″E)
Cause of deathKilled by the 1991 eruption of Mt. Unzen
NationalityFrench
EducationUniversity of Strasbourg

Early career

Katia Conrad attended the University of Strasbourg, France, where she studied geology and met her husband and fellow volcano enthusiast, Maurice Krafft. As an undergraduate, she explored Stromboli, her first erupting volcano, where she collected minerals and gases to gather data. Her career as a volcano observer began soon after. With little money, she saved up for a trip to Stromboli and photographed its near-continuous eruption. Finding that people were interested in this documentation of eruptions, she soon made a career out of filming volcano eruptions, which afforded her the ability to travel the globe. In 1970, she married Maurice Krafft.

Career

Katia started her career by taking gas samples of volcanoes and documenting eruptions by observing them in person. To fund her trips, Katia wrote many books about her findings, pioneering a new area of volcanic coverage. She also made a documentary, "The Volcano Watchers", for the PBS show "Nature". On January 23, 1973, Katia was called to Southern Iceland to study an extinct volcano that had suddenly erupted after thousands of years of inactivity. Since volcanoes are unpredictable and dangerous, many scientists were afraid to observe eruptions in person. Katia, however, would go right to the edge of a volcano. Her fearlessness and up-close documentation led to her fame and success as a volcanologist. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Katia continued to document volcanoes through photography while her husband, Maurice, captured them on video. Katia's observations have led to a better understanding of volcanic eruptions. She took measurements, gas readings, and collected mineral samples just feet away from erupting volcanoes and documented how these eruptions affected the ecosystem. She witnessed and documented new volcanoes being formed and the effects of acid rain and dangerous ash clouds. One of her last projects was Understanding Volcanic Hazards and Reducing Volcanic Risks. Katia continued to push the boundaries to get her observations, wearing a special helmet to protect herself from falling rock to and taking a raft into a lake of acid to get proper readings. The Kraffts were often the first to be at an active volcano, and were respected and envied by many volcanologists. Her photography allowed her to work with local governments on safety procedures and helping to develop volcano evacuation procedures. Their footage of the effects of volcanic eruptions was a considerable factor in gaining the cooperation of local authorities who were faced with volcanic threats. One notable example of this was after the onset of activity at Mount Pinatubo in 1991, where their video of the effects of the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia was shown to large numbers of people, including Philippine President Cory Aquino. This video convinced many skeptics that evacuation of the area would be necessary.. In 1969, Katia was awarded the prize of the Vocation Foundation for her first work of volcanology on active sites.

Death by Mount Unzen eruption

In June 1991, while filming eruptions at Mount Unzen (Japan), Katia went closer to the volcano and stayed longer during the eruption. Katia and her husband were caught in a pyroclastic flow which unexpectedly swept out of a channel where previously smaller flows had been following and onto the ridge they were standing on. They died along with 41 other scientists and journalists also covering the eruptions, several firefighters, and fellow volcanologist Harry Glicken.

The Maurice and Katia Krafft Crater

A volcanic crater, M. and K. Krafft Crater, of the volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the island of Reunion, is named after the couple. The crater is located at 21°13′23″S 55°43′2″E.[1] Lava erupted from this crater in March 1998.[2]

The Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Fund

The Centre for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaii at Hilo has established a fund in memory of the Krafft's (The Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Fund). The donations will be directed to educate people in countries of high volcanic risk about the hazards active volcanoes pose.

Books

Maurice and Katia Krafft
  • À l’assaut des volcans, Islande, Indonésie, Paris: Presses de la Cité, 1975, 112 pp.
  • Preface by Eugène Ionesco, Les Volcans, Paris: Draeger-Vilo, 1975, 174 pp.
  • La Fournaise, volcan actif de l’île de la Réunion, Saint-Denis: Éditions Roland Benard, 1977, 121 pp.
  • Volcans, le réveil de la Terre, Paris: Hachette-Réalités, 1979, 158 pp.
  • Dans l’antre du Diable : volcans d’Afrique, Canaries et Réunion, Paris: Presses de la Cité, 1981, 124 pp.
  • Volcans et tremblements de terre, Paris: Les Deux Coqs d’Or, 1982, 78 pp.
  • Volcans et dérives des continents, Paris: Hachette, 1984, 157 pp.
  • Les plus beaux volcans, d’Alaska en Antarctique et Hawaï, Paris: Solar, 1985, 88 pp.
  • Volcans et éruptions, Paris: Hachette-Jeunesse, 1985, 90 pp.
  • Les Volcans du monde, Vevey-Lausanne: Éditions Mondo, 1986, 152 pp.
  • Objectif volcans, Paris: Nathan Image, 1986, 154 pp.
  • Führer zu den Virunga Vulkanen, Stuttgart: F. Enke, 1990, 187 pp.

Maurice Krafft, Katia Krafft and François-Dominique de Larouzière
  • Guide des volcans d'Europe et des Canaries, Neuchâtel: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1991, 455 pp.

Krafft Medal
  • For years she studied volcanoes right at their edge. Her bravery and expertise have given us a greater understanding of volcanoes. The Krafft medal is now given out to exceptional volcanologists. The Kraftt Medal honors the Kraftt memory and is awarded every 4 years by the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly to someone who has made significant contributions to volcanology through service to communities affected by volcanic activity[3]

References
  1. Bachelery, P., Lenat, J-F., Di Muro, A. and Michon, L. (editors) (2016). Active Volcanoes of the Southwest Indian Ocean: Piton de la Fournaise and Katharla. Berlin: Springer. p. 146. ISBN 978-3-642-31394-3.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  2. "Activité historique du Piton de la Fournaise". Observatoire volcanologique du Piton de la Fournaise. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  3. Nicotra, Eugenio. "Krafft Medal". IAVCEIvolcano.org - International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior. Retrieved 13 December 2018.

Additional sources
  • P.B.S. Nature: "The Volcano Watchers" 60 minute VHS tape [PBS 103] WNET THirteen Copyright 1987, ISBN 1-56111-504-5
  • National Geographic Society "Volcano" 60 minute VHS tape [52763] Columbia Tristar Home Video ISBN 0-8001-2666-1
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