Harry Glicken

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Harry Glicken (in the 1980s )
The Mount St. Helens on 17 May 1980, the day before the outbreak (Photo by Harry Glicken)

Harry Glicken (March 7, 1958 - June 3, 1991 on Unzen ) was an American volcanologist who made a name for himself through his research on Mount St. Helens .

Life

Glicken studied at Stanford University and made his bachelor's degree in geology in June 1979 . Shortly thereafter, he was hired by David A. Johnston as his assistant. Glicken was involved with Johnston in the observation of Mount St. Helens and, in contrast to Johnston, only survived it because he was not there on the day of the eruption in May 1980 due to an external appointment. In the years following the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Glicken worked as a volcanologist, mainly in the field of volcanic products such as pyroclastic flows , glowing avalanches and glowing clouds as well as lahars . His most important publications include detailed geological maps of Mount St. Helens and documentation of the volcanic eruption. He was also involved as a co-author on numerous volcanological publications.

After he failed to get a position at the United States Geological Survey , he began researching in January 1991 as a post-doctoral student at Tokyo Metropolitan University .

Glicken died on June 3, 1991 when the Unzen volcano erupted in southern Japan, along with 41 other scientists and journalists, including the famous volcanologist couple Maurice and Katia Krafft , when the group got caught in a pyroclastic flow . His body was recovered and identified three days later.

Research on Mount St. Helens

Together with Glicken, David A. Johnston wanted to open a station in Anchorage and conduct research there during the summer of 1980. However, when reports arrived that the volcano Mount St. Helens might erupt, the two went instead to a USGS research station on this volcano. From May 2, 1980, Glicken occupied the Coldwater II observation post , 10 km from the summit of Mount St. Helens. He should report landslides or landslides.

On the evening of May 17, 1980, Glicken traded jobs with Johnston because he had to travel to California. In February, he had already made an appointment with his professor Richard V. Fisher for May 18, 1980, to discuss the further course of his doctoral studies. When Mount St. Helens actually erupted on the morning of May 18, Glicken was a safe distance away in California. David Johnston, however, died in the outbreak.

In the aftermath of this catastrophe, Glicken turned primarily to the exploration of volcanic debris avalanches, and especially those that formed when Mount St. Helens erupted. His mapping work there was extremely detailed, it was supported not least by the fact that the deposits of the volcanic eruption were in a very fresh condition. In addition, he related the state of Mount St. Helens before the eruption to the deposits he had mapped, and was thus able to trace the eruption very precisely.

Publications

  • Sedimentary architecture of large volcanic-Debris Avalanches. Department of Geological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • The Significance of Volcanic Ash Tempering in the Ceramics of the Central Maya Lowlands- in Prudence M. with Anabel Ford, 1987
  • Geology and ground-water hydrology of Spirit Lake blockage, Mount St. Helens, Washington, with implications for lake retention. with William Meyer and Martha Sabol, 1988/89
  • Rockslide-debris avalanche of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens volcano, Washington. 1986 ( online version )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ USGS: Rockslide-debris Avalanche of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens Volcano, Washington
  2. ^ Stanley Williams: Surviving Galeras. Houghton Mifflin, 2001, ISBN 978-0-618-03168-9 , p. 123. Restricted preview in Google Book Search
  3. ↑ Martin Kunz: VOLCANOES: Dante on the way into the inferno. In: Focus Online . August 1, 1994, accessed January 4, 2015 .
  4. ^ "US Volcano Expert's Body Found in Japan" . Retrieved from articles.latimes.com ( Los Angeles Times ) on September 27, 2014.
  5. ^ Memorial David Johnston (Eng.)
  6. ^ Richard V. Fisher: Obituary . In: Bulletin of Volcanology. Volume 53, Number 6, August 1991, pp. 514-516. doi : 10.1007 / BF00258189
personal data
SURNAME Glicken, Harry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Glicken, Harry X.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American volcanologist
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1958
DATE OF DEATH June 3, 1991