Katia and Maurice Krafft

Catherine Joséphine "Katia" Krafft (née Conrad; April 17, 1942 – June 3, 1991) and her husband, Maurice Paul Krafft (March 25, 1946 – June 3, 1991), were French volcanologists who died in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen, in Japan, on June 3, 1991. The Kraffts were known for being pioneers in filming, photographing, and recording volcanoes, often approaching within feet of lava flows. Their obituary appeared in the ''Bulletin of Volcanology''. Werner Herzog's documentaries '' Into the Inferno'' and ''The Fire Within: Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft'' highlight them. A documentary of their career using their footage, '' Fire of Love'', has been produced as well.

Early life

Katia

Katia Krafft was born on April 17, 1942, in the commune of Guebwiller, France. Her parents were Charles and Madeleine Conrad. Katia graduated from the University of Strasbourg with degrees in physics and chemistry.

Maurice

Maurice Krafft was born on March 26, 1946, in the city and commune of Mulhouse, located in the Alsace region of France. Krafft discovered his interest in volcanoes when he was 7 years old, while on a family trip to Naples and Stromboli. He joined the Société géologique de France (Geological Society of France) when he was 15. He later studied geology at the University of Besançon then the University of Strasbourg.

Jointly

The two met on a bench at the university and got married in 1970.

With little money, the Kraffts saved for a trip to Stromboli and photographed its near-continuous eruption. Finding that people were interested in this documentation of eruptions, they soon made a career out of filming volcano eruptions, which allowed them to travel worldwide.

Career

The Kraffts were often the first to be at an active volcano and were respected and envied by many volcanologists. Their footage of the effects of volcanic eruptions was a considerable factor in gaining the cooperation of local authorities faced with volcanic threats. One example occurred after the onset of activity at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines 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, and convinced many skeptics that evacuation of the area would be necessary.

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 traveled to southern Iceland to study an extinct volcano that suddenly erupted after thousands of years of inactivity. Because volcanoes are unpredictable and dangerous, many scientists did not observe eruptions in person.

Katia, however, would go 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 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, getting closer to the volcano by wearing a special helmet to protect herself from falling rock. Her photography allowed her to work with local governments on safety procedures and helping to develop volcano evacuation procedures. In 1969, Katia was awarded a prize from the Vocation Foundation for her first work of volcanology on active sites.

Mount Unzen eruption and death

On June 3, 1991, at around 4pm local time, Mount Unzen erupted, forming pyroclastic flows that rushed down its slopes, killing 37 people, including the Kraffts and fellow volcanologist Harry Glicken. On June 5, local authorities and police in Shimabara reported that military search parties had recovered the bodies of Glicken and Kraffts. The Kraffts had been found near their rental car, lying side by side under a thin layer of pyroclastic ash. Their bodies were burned beyond recognition and could only be identified by a few personal items, such as Maurice's watch and camera. The location of the bodies suggested that Glicken had been the first of the trio to flee and Kraffts had stayed where they were. Their film material of the approaching steam was destroyed by the volcanic heat.

The remains of the Kraffts were cremated as part of a Catholic funeral service and placed at the Anyo-ji Shrine in Shimabara, which was dedicated to the victims of the 1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami.

''National Geographic'' highlighted The Kraffts' work in a video issue, publishing a trove of archival film footage and photographs, as well as interviews with both. Maurice said in that video that "I am never afraid because I have seen so many eruptions in 23 years that even if I die tomorrow, I don't care".

After his death, Maurice was quoted in the ''Associated Press'' as stating that he wanted to die pursuing his work "at the edge of a volcano."

Legacy

A volcanic crater, ''M. and K. Krafft Crater'', of the volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, is named after the couple. The crater is located at . Lava erupted from this crater in March 1998.

The Krafft Medal honors the Kraffts' memory and is awarded every 4 years by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior ( IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly to someone who has made significant contributions to volcanology through service to communities affected by volcanic activity.

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 remembering the Kraffts (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 Krafft

* ''Guide des volcans d’Europe : généralités, France, Islande, Italie, Grèce, Allemagne...'', Neuchâtel: Delachaux et Niestlé, 1974, 412 pp.
* ''Questions à un vulcanologue : Maurice Krafft répond'', Paris: Hachette-Jeunesse, 1981, 231 pp.
* ''Les Volcans et leurs secrets'', Paris: Nathan, 1984, 63 pp.
* ''Le Monde merveilleux des volcans'', Paris: Hachette-Jeunesse, 1981, 58 pp.
* ''Les Feux de la Terre : Histoire de volcans'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 113), série Sciences et techniques. Paris: Gallimard, 1991 (new edition in 2003), 208 pp.
** ''Volcanoes: Fire from the Earth'', "Abrams Discoveries" series, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993.
** ''Volcanoes: Fire from the Earth'', 'New Horizons' series, London: Thames & Hudson, 1993.

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 and Roland Benard

* Au cœur de la Fournaise, Orléans

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases