Katia and Maurice Krafft

Katia and Maurice Krafft at Kīlauea in 1990

Signature of Maurice Krafft

Catherine Marie Joséphine Krafft (born Conrad ; born April 17, 1942 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin ; † June 3, 1991 at Unzen ) and Maurice Paul Krafft (born March 25, 1946 in Guebwiller ; † June 3, 1991 at Unzen ) were French geoscientists. Both of them traveled - as a married couple since 1970 - over a quarter of a century to more than 300 volcanoes worldwide and experienced more than 175 eruptions . They saw themselves first and foremost as volcanologists , but also distinguished themselves to a considerable extent as nature photographers and filmmakers.

After completing their respective studies in geology or geochemistry and physics, they worked exclusively as a freelancer and founded the "Center de Volcanologie Vulcain" in 1968 as a kind of rapid reaction force of young scientists who could break out into eruptions at extremely short notice. They were also members of the informal research teams "Bénard-Gang" and "Active Volcano Working Group". In particular, they gained international fame through their claim to fearlessly observe and document volcanic eruptions from the closest possible distance with an apparently high willingness to take risks. With numerous lectures, television appearances, exhibitions and over 20 published books, Maurice and Katia Krafft carried out intensive public relations work. On the one hand they financed their living and the expeditions in this way - on the other hand they wanted to make the work of the volcanological community known and to inspire laypeople for the beauty of the volcanoes.

From the 1980s, her focus of interest shifted from the effusive volcanism of the shield to the ejective activity of the stratovolcanoes . In addition, the couple devoted themselves increasingly to awareness-raising and educational work and also shifted to including those who live in the shadow of the volcanoes in their considerations. The Kraffts designed an information center and a volcanic adventure park and shot an educational film on volcanic dangers on behalf of UNESCO .

Her scientific contribution to volcanology - among other things, recorded in more than a dozen specialist articles - can be seen in particular in comprehensive gas and temperature analyzes, in addition to basic research on the natrocarbonatitic activity of Ol Doinyo Lengai , in the first film recordings of a pyroclastic flow and in development innovative analytical instruments for field work. Her extensive estate also proved to be extremely valuable. This consisted of several thousand hours of film material and several hundred thousand photos of volcanoes, as well as countless documents and other objects on the history of volcanology.

Together with their American friend and colleague Harry Glicken and 40 other people, the Kraffts died in the summer of 1991 when a pyroclastic flow escaped from the Japanese volcano Unzen .

Life

Origin, youth and education

Katia

Ekaterina Dolgorukova (photo from 1880) - namesake of Katia Krafft.

Katia was born on April 17, 1942, the daughter of Charles (1913-2006) and Madeleine Conrad in the Alsatian community of Guebwiller, which had a population of just under 10,000 at the time . Her mother had worked as a teacher at various elementary schools in Alsace and was now the head of an École maternelle in the immediately neighboring, somewhat smaller town of Soultz-Haut-Rhin , while her father was a foreman of a company that supplies machine parts for both the steel industry and also manufactured for spinning machines. With Jean-Marie she had a brother two years her junior. The family lived in Soultz-Haut-Rhin.

Originally Madeleine wanted to name her daughter after Ekaterina Dolgorukova - the wife of the Russian Tsar Alexander II . Her nickname was "Katia" and as such she was shown in a 1938 film of the same name directed by Maurice Tourneur with Danielle Darrieux in the lead role. Madeleine Conrad loved this film and its protagonist. The birth, however, fell during the occupation of France during the Second World War by the National Socialist German Reich . Giving a newborn a Russian-sounding name during this period was a disproportionate risk. The parents therefore agreed on the maiden name Catherine Marie Joséphine Conrad . Within the family, however, the daughter was called "Katia" from the start.

From an early age, Katia was seen as an extremely curious, alert and unadapted child. For example, she played soccer with the boys in the neighborhood and, at the age of six, expressed her desire to a friend to become a volcanologist. Her mother, however, assumed that her daughter - just like herself - would embark on a career as a teacher, in other words in an “appropriate female profession”. Katia attended her mother's preschool class, but did not enjoy any preferential treatment there. On the contrary, Madeleine meticulously made sure that she was a good role model for the other children. In 1953, in the sixth grade, the parents decided to send Katia to a private Ursuline girls' school in Riedisheim . There the nuns should give her a conservative education with traditional role models. In retrospect, Katia said several times that she did not have good memories of this time: At the Ursuline School, she developed her aversion to “Boeotic authorities” , hypocrisy and, in particular, the mixture of science and religion, which would shape her life throughout her life. After a year she was allowed to switch to a mixed-sex school in Guebwiller, which she attended from 1954 to 1956. Together with her family, Katia went on a trip to the Massif Central in 1955 . There she saw extinct volcanoes for the first time. A little later, at the age of 14, she first mentioned her career aspirations to her parents. However, they did not yet take their expressions of interest seriously.

In September 1957 she was admitted to the École normal in Guebwiller - an institution that primarily trains academic teaching staff. Her parents, especially mother Madeleine, were satisfied, as the daughter had apparently made friends with the career field intended for her. But the three years of training were difficult for Katia. Ultimately, she graduated and taught mathematics and science for a year at the Collège d'enseignement supérieur “Saint-Louis” in Mulhouse - a middle school .

After a long struggle with her parents, Katia was able to enroll at the University of Strasbourg in October 1961 and concentrate on a career as a volcanologist.

At the beginning of August 1960 she traveled to Sicily with her family . Among other things, the Conrads received a two-day tour on Etna . In the further course of the trip, visitors to the Italian mainland visited the ruins of the city ​​of Pompeii, which was destroyed in 79 as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius . Katia - who had meanwhile also seen Haroun Tazieff's film Les rendez-vous du diable - was not ready to give up her dreams and this holiday with the experience of active volcanism solidified her decision. At the age of 19 , she finally enrolled at the University of Strasbourg in October 1961 . Her main subject was geochemistry and she also got a license in physics . During and after her studies, she also completed internships in gas analysis at the École nationale supérieure de chimie de Mulhouse (ENSCMu) and volunteered for the Gaz service of the Center national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS). She finished her main studies with a Diplôme d'études approfondies , which corresponds to a research-oriented master's degree . She then started a dissertation at the ENSCMu , but did not complete it.

As strict and purposeful as Katia's upbringing was, her parents gave her so much freedom in choosing her hobbies. These again paint the picture of a girl with a wide range of interests, very active and enthusiastic about sports. Katia practiced athletics , swimming , diving , volleyball , climbing and was kayaking , racing bikes and skiing . She also played the piano and was good at painting; she mainly made landscape paintings. From August 1956 there is evidence that she drove successfully in a death ball at a local festival without her parents' knowledge . Although she was widely praised for this achievement and was the talk of the town - her mother was extremely upset. In September 1957 Katia also began a detective story called Je suis un criminel! to be written, which ultimately comprised over 80 pages. It was a continuation of many of the stories she had made up with her brother. The book was about the conflict between adolescents and adults and the struggle between good and evil, at the end of which virtue wins.

Maurice

Maurice Krafft was the son of the medical couple Raymond (* 1912/1913) and Élisabeth Krafft, née Dopff. Born in Mulhouse on March 25, 1946, he grew up with his older brother Bertrand in sheltered, affluent circumstances in nearby Pfastatt . While his mother was no longer practicing, his father worked as a radiologist in the service of the mining company Mines de potasse d'Alsace - the dominant company in the Alsatian potash district . Previously, in 1941, he had founded the radiology department of the local hospital. Maurice's maternal grandfather was a respected architect and chief urban planner in Strasbourg .

Both parents were very fond of science and enjoyed traveling. Father Raymond had a pronounced inclination for botany and DIY and was considered a liberal free spirit . At an early age he not only conveyed an interest in the natural sciences to his sons, but also a philosophy of life that included general curiosity and fun in scientific debates. He taught her to purposefully pursue her own ideas, to be persistent and not to let her character bend. Maurice - who was nicknamed "Ouane" in the family - developed from this upbringing the peculiarity of contradicting his teachers even at school.

In July 1953, the Kraffts traveled to Italy and also visited the active Stromboli , whose constant small eruptions attract numerous tourists. Maurice was enthusiastic about this experience and was to establish his lifelong fascination with volcanoes. Haroun Tazieff's film Les rendez-vous du diable , which was released in 1958 and which Maurice watched several times, also made a decisive contribution . Tazieff became the adolescent's scientific role model and idol. Apart from volcanology, Maurice was enthusiastic about geological topics in general. For example, he was also interested in palaeontology and stored numerous fossil finds in his parents' attic.

First Maurice attended a boys' school , then between 1957 and 1960 the Lycée "Lambert" in Mulhouse. There he made friends with Roland Haas , whom he infected with his passion for geology and volcanoes. Both called each other as a friendly duo "Kraffthaas". Both his lack of fear of authority and his early expertise are evident in the following spotlight: When he was 14 years old, a teacher showed the students a rock and called it limestone . Maurice took the exhibit, went to the window and demonstrated to the class by scratching the glass pane with the stone to determine the Mohs hardness that it was not lime, but rather a silicate . Around the same time, in 1962, Maurice joined the Société géologique de France . A little later, together with Roland Haas, he undertook his first scientifically motivated excursion, which took the two young people to the Massif Central on mopeds . In April 1963 an excursion to the German low mountain range Kaiserstuhl followed , which is also of volcanic origin. Maurice's further path into practical field geology was mapped out. In 1964 he passed his Baccalauréat - comparable to the German Abitur .

To study geology , he first enrolled at the University of Franche-Comté in Besançon , but switched to the University of Strasbourg in 1966 - still with Roland Haas as a fellow student .

• 

  During his first year of study in 1966, Maurice Krafft traveled to the four great volcanoes of Italy: Stromboli , ...

• 

  ... the Vulcano , ...

• 

  ... Vesuvius ...

• 

  ... as well as Etna .

In the same year, shortly after starting their studies, Krafft and Haas went on their first really scientific excursion with observation and analysis equipment to the volcanoes of Italy by car. They traveled to Vulcano , Stromboli , Vesuvius and Etna . At the latter, she made Giorgio Marinelli (1922–1993) - then lecturer in mineralogy and petrography at the University of Pisa - acquainted with Haroun Tazieff . They ate dinner together, had technical discussions and finally both became brief members of Tazieff's interdisciplinary and international team. After eight days of fieldwork together, he recommended them an academic and professional specialization in volcanology. At that time, volcanology still played a subordinate role within the geosciences and hardly offered any promising career opportunities. Tazieff offered to help Krafft and Haas with their careers. Euphoric by the encounter with his idol, Maurice agreed with Tazieff for another meeting during a stay in Italy over Easter 1967. It was planned to set up measuring stations on the Aeolian Islands .

Meeting and foundation of the Équipe Vulcain

Katia and Maurice Krafft met through their mutual friend Roland Haas. Maurice and Haas were planning a three-month expedition to Iceland and were looking for a good photo camera. Haas knew about Katia's passion for photography and also pointed out to Maurice her strong fascination for volcanoes. In autumn 1966 - at the beginning of the new academic year - Katia and Maurice met for the first time in Strasbourg's Café de la Victoire .

Contrary to the agreements made with Tazieff the previous year, Maurice did not return to the Aeolian Islands at Easter 1967. Instead, he began to give public lectures on volcanoes during this time. The events in Mühlhausen, Colmar and Pfastatt, peppered with humor and enthusiasm, were a great success with the Alsatian audience. During the 1967 summer vacation, he did a three-month internship at the Aeolian Islands observatory under the supervision of his compatriot Claude Blot , geophysicist at the Office de la recherche scientifique et technique outre-mer (ORSTOM) - five weeks of which were self-reliant and alone on Stromboli. His local knowledge enabled him to work as a tourist guide. During those holidays he worked again for a week with Tazieff and his research group on Etna and Vulcano. There he received several nicknames: " Empedocles ", "Man from the East [France]" and "Bear of the volcano". Tazieff suggested Maurice write a dissertation on Vulcano and offered him the prospect of becoming a regular team member within two years. In fact, Katia and Maurice initially sympathize with the idea of ​​working with Tazieff's international team. Apart from work, they met him several times privately in Paris. With Maurice Krafft and Tazieff, however, two difficult characters met each other - the latter often tolerated no contradiction and no scientific competition in his ranks. Ultimately, there never was a really close and long-term cooperation. Katia and Maurice planned joint projects, but as students did not yet have their own regular income. They were supported financially by Katia's parents and on the weekends they also lived on the first floor of the Conrads' large house. In addition, they reached out to local and regional authorities and companies for grants and sponsors. In fact, Maurice was awarded a research travel grant from the Leisure and Culture Commission of the Mines de potasse d'Alsace in April 1967 and a travel grant from the Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department in December of the same year . On November 26, 1967, both took part in a large demonstration against the Vietnam War organized by the Mouvement Jeunes Communistes de France in Paris , and the next day several photos of them appeared in L'Humanité . They did not like the ideological appropriation of the protests, but as young adults interested in the zeitgeist and political events, they felt connected to the student movement.

At the beginning of 1968, Maurice Krafft, Katia Conrad and Roland Haas set up the "Équipe Vulcain" (later renamed "Center de Volcanologie Vulcain") stationed in Cernay , a group of young, just trained, mainly French volcanologists and amateurs who in the spirit of a fast task force could travel quickly to eruptions. In the further course the group grew to eleven members - among others, Michel Wolff , Marcel Chaigneau , Gilbert Féraud and Jean-Guy Bartaire belonged to the team. Maurice acted as a leader in this structure, made decisions about excursions and distributed the tasks; Katia took care of the logistics.

The team's first research trip led Krafft, Conrad and Haas to Iceland for three months from June 26, 1968 . It was partially financed by the automobile manufacturer Renault , which provided them with a new Renault 4 as a means of transport. This was done as part of the advertising sponsorship series Dotation Les Routes du Monde . The geologists explored numerous volcanoes and carried out gas analyzes and temperature measurements. The journey was briefly interrupted on July 10th due to two injuries: When Maurice sank up to his knees in a 140 degree Celsius hot mud pot in Krýsuvík , he suffered moderate burns on his calf. On the way to the hospital in Reykjavík , the trio was involved in a car accident. Only a few weeks earlier - on May 26th - Iceland had switched to right-hand traffic and many local road users still had difficulty orienting themselves. Haas fractured his kneecap . After a few days in hospital and a car repair, both were able to continue the expedition together with Katia. In the end, however, they saw themselves forced to prematurely break off their journey in the alluvial plain of Skeiðarársandur , as they had repeatedly got stuck in the numerous intertwined rivers and had to realize that they could cross country without four-wheel drive and could not continue on the undeveloped roads of the region - the island-encompassing ring road Hringvegur was not completed until a few years later. During their time in Iceland, Krafft, Conrad and Haas had covered 12,983 kilometers. Overall, they drew a positive balance - even if no outbreak could be observed. After the trio returned, the Alsatian daily newspaper L'Alsace published a detailed travel report by the team and Maurice and Katia produced their first film from the extensive film material from the trip.

“These little ones are damn dangerous. Before that we have to take really careful and leave them on the left in the future. " (Comment from Haroun Tazieff on his assistant after the TV show) Tazieff was Maurice Krafft's youth idol and a long-standing role model, but in 1969 the two broke up.

On the advice of MJ Tranchant, director of the Groupement pour l'avancement des méthodes spectroscopiques et des méthodes physiques d'analysis (today's Association francophone des sciences séparatives ; AFSEP), Katia developed during 1969 during her voluntary work at the CNRS together with François Couillard developed the world's first portable gas chromatograph for the laboratory technology company Touzart et Matignon based in Les Ulis . This was initially used on several smaller trips by the team to the Aeolian Islands, which were frequently visited in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the same year, Maurice went into employment for the first and only time in his life, when he worked briefly for the oil company Elf Aquitaine in the exploration of crude oil. In September 1969 they both take part in their first specialist volcanological congress - a symposium at the University of Oxford - and on September 20, 1969, at Tazieff's invitation, she and Roland Haas were guests with him on the extremely popular television program moderated by François de La Grange The rendez-vous de l'aventure . There, however, there were serious discrepancies: While Maurice gave a lively, detailed and rousing account of her adventures on volcanoes, Tazieff hardly had a say and, in his opinion, was ignored by the questioners. He felt outshone by the young scientists and saw his unique selling point as the most famous French volcanologist at risk. Much to Maurice Krafft's regret, the result was a break between them; From then on, Tazieff looked at him and Katia with pronounced antipathy, which even extended beyond her death, after which he was unable to find any words of praise for her. Quickly followed by an interview with the Krafft in the one-hour telecast Cap sur l'aventure: les volcans in Romandie . It was the first of numerous television appearances that both were to complete in more than 20 years and the beginning of their media-based public relations work. Maurice gave further lectures (including in Altkirch , Sierentz and Bollwiller ) and the organizers of the well-known scientific film lecture series Connaissance du Monde approached the Kraffts with the request to present their film about the volcanoes of Iceland.

The couple married on August 18, 1970, and Katia took Maurice's last name. They spent their honeymoon in Santorini .

1970–1980: A decade in the rhythm of the earth

In 1971 Maurice Krafft crossed the Ijen crater lake ( pH value <0.4) in a rubber dinghy.

The 1970s began for the Kraffts with their most extensive and longest expedition: Together with the other Équipe members Roland Haas, Michel Wolff, Gilbert Féraud and Jean-Guy Bartaire, they accepted an official invitation from the Indonesian government and traveled between May 13 and December 21st the great island kingdom for more than seven months. The official goal was to examine the extensive thermal areas (with solfataras , mofets and fumaroles ) and to assess which of the country's numerous volcanoes posed the greatest threat to the population living in their respective surroundings. In the run-up to the trip, the Kraffts wrote more than 2000 letters in which they solicited partners and sponsors from the business world. Eventually they received several grants and grants from 136 French companies and institutions as well as UNESCO . Even Renault once again made support - again in the series endowment Les Routes du Monde . This time a Saviem was made available. At the beginning of August, the researchers reached the Ijen in the east of the Great Sunda Island Java , which is known for its extremely acidic crater lake. To take depth measurements and collect water samples, Maurice Krafft and Féraud dared to cross in a rubber dinghy - which they had bought second-hand at the flea market in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine . Both of them suffered moderate burns on their hands, but the risk was successful. In the vicinity of the volcano, they also visited the primitive sulfur mines , where the locals mine and transport the yellow mineral with their bare hands under health-endangering working conditions. Maurice described his impressions a few years later:

“There, near the crater, you have people digging up the sulfur. There is actually a sulfur mine there, albeit a very, very primitive sulfur mine. These people are fantastic people because they have 60 kilograms or so of sulfur on their back and they have to run 30 kilometers with it on their back. The money they get is really nothing to speak of. And you see children, twelve years old or ten years old, who work there. It is absolutely horrific. Those conditions are very bad. "

Katia contracted an infection in her leg and septic arthritis in her knee on Ijen . She had to be hospitalized for three weeks in a hospital on the nearby island of Bali . Meanwhile, the other expedition members accompanied an eruption of the not far away Batur and Katia herself read the draft of her book Volcans et tremblements de terre correction. In total, the sextet visited 39 volcanoes in the seven months. It is the longest volcanological research trip to Indonesia that has been carried out by foreigners to date.

Marapi Batur Anak Krakatau Papandayan Merapi Tambora Karangetang Ijen Flores On Flores : • Ebulobo • Egon • Levotobi • Iya • Kelimutu More on Java : • Semeru • Bromo • Kamojang • Sundoro • Tangkuban Perahu • Merbabu • Batok • Talaga Bodas On Sulawesi : • Lokon Empung • Soputan

Some of the volcanoes the researchers visited on their 1971 trip to Indonesia.

During the eruption of the Eldfell in early 1973 on Heimaey , the Kraffts were "alone on the stage on which nature staged its spectacle."

The other two most important expeditions of the decade both took place in 1973. When a new eruption crevice unexpectedly opened on January 23 on the small Icelandic island of Heimaey with the Eldfell , the Kraffts managed to be on site within a few hours. They initially helped evacuate the population, then were the only filmmakers on site and went to the volcano with the permission of the local authorities. For four days they filmed and photographed the lava fountains of the eruption, which covered large parts of the island town with ash and lava, from close by and collected scientific data. Maurice later described the events with the words:

“We went to a hotel to store our things there and the owner of the hotel said, 'Oh, don't pay for the room. My hotel will be destroyed tomorrow [anyway]. ' And in the evening we entered the building through the front door and the next morning we left through the first floor. Five meters of ash fell on this house overnight. […] To see all these houses with the interior lights on, curtains, dishes on the tables and so on - everything was ready, but nobody was there. It was like being in some kind of theater, with big sets waiting for a performance; but no one is there for the performance. Only the volcano in the background. "

After returning to Paris on January 29th, Maurice reported on the eruption on the France Inter midday news . Impressed by the courage, determination and optimism of the Icelanders, the Kraffts then collected donations for the residents of Heimaey at around 30 lecture events. On June 3, 1973, they handed the Icelandic ambassador to France, Einar Jonsson, a check for 12,352 francs as a token of solidarity with his people .

In June 1973 the Kraffts camped inside the Nyiragongo crater for more than two weeks .

Only a few days later they set out for Africa for the first time. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then called Zaire ) they climbed the Nyiragongo, the most famous of the Virunga volcanoes belonging to the East African Rift Valley . In its crater - on a rock terrace above the lava lake - they pitched their tent for 15 days, filmed, photographed and carried out measurements. Katia described her emotional state in this unreal place:

“The ground is shaking, you have all these noises around you - as if you were in the bowels of the earth. And you are nothing. And that is very nice to feel: You are simply nothing when you are near a volcano. "

When a little more than three and a half years later, on January 10, 1977, five crevices opened on the flanks of the Nyiragongo and fast-flowing, low-viscosity Pāhoehoe lava allegedly claimed several hundred lives, the Kraffts happened to be in Nairobi and were able to get there within a few hours of the action. The eruption had only lasted 60 minutes, so that all they had left was to document the destruction of the lava flow. Maurice's photos of elephant skeletons embedded in the hardened lava - the animals had been caught up and enclosed by the lava while fleeing - went around the world.

In the summer of 1978, they both undertook a two-month trip through Alaska and researched 13 volcanoes with an ambitious schedule. On May 3, 1979, after an eruption phase with ash clouds and pyroclastic flows , Katia climbed the summit of Soufrière in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and discovered a small new lava dome there . The Kraffts paid a lot of attention and special interest to both the almost continuously active Kīlauea on Hawaii - on the slopes of which they also wanted to retire one day - and the no less frequent erupting Piton de la Fournaise on Réunion . The latter was one of their most frequent destinations. Katia and Maurice Krafft were members of the so-called "Bénard gang", a group of several volcanologists who regularly examined and observed this mountain. This informal circle also included Alain Gérente , Jeanine Ceccaldi , François Cartault , Jean-Claude Vallée , André Bacquet and the namesake Roland Bénard . Maurice summarized her fascination in 1987 as follows:

“Réunion is an old friend of mine - one of my best friends. It is a volcano that is active about once a year and [has] very nice activities. And I hear about these eruptions immediately. I would say if an outbreak starts I will know in less than five minutes here in France over the phone or telex and stuff. And then I rush there because there are daily flights. And I like this volcano very much. [...] I fell in love with the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, yes. "

The Kraffts were unattached throughout their lives, had no children, and had no academic commitments such as teaching at universities. Her goal was to live “according to the rhythm of the earth” and to be able to leave anywhere at any time. Their rural origins also determined their later life in such a way that they always remained loyal to the small communities of their southern Alsace homeland and avoided large cities as far as possible. They saw these merely as necessary stopovers or places of professional contact. They lived in succession in Cernay , Guebwiller and Ensisheim and finally acquired a residence in Wattwiller in September 1977 . From the 1970s onwards they financed their livelihood and the numerous costly research trips through various book publications, photo exhibitions, geological tours and the nationwide continuation of Maurice's successful lectures. As early as the end of 1969, an antiquarian bookshop in Mulhouse had agreed to host a first small exhibition with photos and mineral finds from the Kraffts. At that time hardly any profit was made - but as the couple became more well-known and the professionalization of their work went along with it, this economic model paid off. With their often popular science presentations in these cases, they addressed the general population in order to inspire laypeople for the beauty of volcanoes and to inform them about the professional field of volcanologists. They found a large audience through numerous television appearances, their personal charisma, their style of presentation and their obvious enthusiasm for volcanoes.

In the course of time, the Kraffts had established a tight network of personal contacts with scientists and friends on site at volcanoes. Through these acquaintances as well as through the Global Volcanism Program (or its predecessor Center for Short-Lived Phenomena and Scientific Event Alert Network ) of the Smithsonian Institution - for which they, as correspondents, also contributed photos and their own reports - they were able to receive from Experiencing eruptions around the world. Within 25 years, the couple traveled to over 300 volcanoes on all continents and experienced more than 175 eruptions - a record that has never been achieved to this day. In the course of the Cold War they only left out the Soviet Union - and thus the volcanoes on Kamchatka . Nonetheless, Maurice admired the work of the Soviet geologists Igor Ivanov and Viktor Popkow .

1980–1991: Specialization in "gray volcanoes"

May 18, 1980 marked the decisive moment in a paradigm shift in the work of the Kraffts that stretched over several years . On that day, the spectacular eruption of the US Mount St. Helens occurred in the form of a lateral eruption, which caused extensive destruction within a radius of up to 30 kilometers with glowing clouds and pyroclastic currents . The Kraffts visited the area in July and surveyed the devastation. The impressions there were ultimately decisive for the fact that her research and documentation focus shifted. Up to now they had mainly traveled to effusive shield volcanoes , but now their interest in the ejective activity of stratovolcanoes (also called stratovolcanoes , gray volcanoes or explosive volcanoes ) grew . In addition, both now increasingly pursued the goal of filming a devastating pyroclastic current during its departure. Research on this volcanic phenomenon was not very advanced at the time and photos of streams existed, but no film recordings.

The couple's work environment also changed analogously. Katia and Maurice, for example, became members and driving force in the "Active Volcano Working Group", a loose association of volcanologists who were out to research eruptions not only by remote sensing , but rather from as close a distance as possible. Other members included Jürgen Kienle ( University of Alaska Fairbanks ), Norman Banks ( USGS ), Ken Wohletz ( Los Alamos National Laboratory ) and Harry Glicken ( University of California, Santa Barbara ). The Los Angeles Times described the importance of this group in 1991 as follows:

“ Carried out with high-tech sensors, the work of these frontline volcanologists has significantly contributed to our understanding of when a volcano will erupt - and for how long. That means a better chance of saving lives because endangered areas can be evacuated. "

While the Krafft end of March 1982 in Guatemala and Nicaragua conducted reconnaissance flights, broke out in neighboring Mexico of El Chichón out. Over three days, almost 2,000 people died from pyroclastic currents. The short distance enabled the couple to be the first scientists to be on site immediately. For a few days they studied the effects of the eruptions and made measurements in the deposited beds of the currents. About a month later, a nine-month eruption phase of the Galunggung began in Indonesia , which was also characterized by numerous pyroclastic currents. The Kraffts did not get any film recordings of them, but the experiences there strengthened them in their new specialization. Katia described the encounter with the rivers at Galunggung looking back:

“It is really something very dangerous. But it was so fascinating to look at and try to get close to better see what was happening that we didn't care about death or anything - because it was so fascinating to see that you [it = death] simply forgets. 'Ok, it can happen - but we'll try.' "

The fissure eruption on Mauna Loa in 1984, which opened on Maurice Krafft's birthday and which both could watch live.

On January 28 and 29, 1983, Maurice climbed the Pacaya in southern Guatemala and registered a very viscous and only about 50 meters long lava flow flowing from the southwest flank. Later in the year, the couple stayed on the small Indonesian island of Una Una between August 14 and September 4 . The Colo stratovolcano had been active there since mid-July and had almost completely devastated the island with numerous pyroclastic currents, so that the population had been evacuated. The Kraffts observed the outbreaks and documented the damage. A highlight of 1984 was the eruption of the Hawaiian Mauna Loa . While the Kraffts were on site, on March 25th - Maurice's birthday - a crevice opened in the southwest of the summit caldera and in the northeastern rift zone. Large lava fountains and numerous initially low-viscosity lava flows shaped the scenery. Looking back, Maurice said about that day as follows:

“That was my birthday. It was a fantastic gift. I will never get a present like this again. The crevice system was ten miles long, and you had curtains of fire forming and great lava flows down the whole crevice. It is simply the blood of the earth that flows down the mountain - but really a lot of blood. "

Another expedition took the Kraffts to Deception Island in 1984 , where they filmed the Antarctic fauna, among other things .

Risk in the eyes of the Kraffts

“At first you have to stay [far] away for a long time to observe its [the volcano's] habits, you know , its behavior: where are the blocks falling and so on. We are not kamikaze , we are not just jumping into a volcano. Not really." “Risk is the real engine of life. You know, if you don't take risks , it's like you 've died with your own life rushing by. " (Quotes from Maurice Krafft) “I think the greatest risk is driving the car because it's a very dangerous environment. But it depends. If you're near an explosive volcano, the chance [of survival] must be 50 percent . " (Quote from Katia Krafft)

Maurice also conveyed the couple's new research focus in his lectures and sometimes formulated quite pointedly regarding the dangers at work:

“The last time I was here, I presented the volcanoes of Africa - that is, the pleasant, the beautiful [volcanoes]. Today I have the tough ones. Just as there are hard rocks, there are also hard volcanoes, killer volcanoes. By the way: of the 350 professional volcanologists, there are around 300 who - and you would do well - specialize in beautiful ones. In other words: red lava flows, fountains of molten lava, boiling lava lakes. It's spectacular, it's terrifying, but to be killed by such an eruption, frankly, you have to make a big mistake or be very unlucky. But there are about 50 volcanologists and I'm one of them who specialize in explosive volcanoes, which is more exciting for me. There is nothing red there. Rather, there are 20, 30, 40 kilometers [high] ash clouds that move at 1000 kilometers per hour and rush 20, 30, 40 kilometers away from the volcano. It's the bomb with the fuse lit and we don't know how long the fuse is. Five of my colleagues have died in eruptions in five years - that's ten percent. You may say that this leaves room for the youth. And that's true; Promotions are often quick. I would say that if you really specialize in explosive volcanoes, it’s not worth saving for old age and that making it to retirement seems a little suspicious. That means that you haven't really done your job conscientiously. "

Along with this openly displayed attitude, the question of the risk that the Kraffts were apparently willing to take in order to experience and research pyroclastic currents at close range increasingly arose. Both emphasized on various occasions not to be afraid of death on volcanoes and to be ready to exhaust their luck. At the same time, however, they just as often emphasized that they were by no means - as it often appeared to outsiders - acting carelessly, thoughtlessly or recklessly, but rather that every approach to a crater was preceded by precise observation and risk assessment. (See quotations on the left.) One of their means of doing this was to make exploratory flights, which they carried out whenever possible on each new volcano in order to familiarize themselves with the morphology of the landscape and to locate safe locations.

At Mount St. Augustine (here a photo from 2006) , des Kraffts were able to film pyroclastic flows for the first time in August 1986.

After Maurice and Katia had followed a crevasse eruption in the Eastern Rift Zone of the Kīlauea in July 1986 together with Greg Vaughn , they toured Mount St. Augustine in Alaska on August 28 and 29 together with the German volcanologist Jürgen Kienle , which they already visited 1978 explored. Here they achieved what they had striven for for so long: the world's first film recordings of pyroclastic flows. The material then contributed significantly to the understanding of the dynamics involved. In some cases, the glowing avalanches flowed only a few dozen meters past the scientists, who were enveloped in clouds of ash and gas. In a wooden hut on Augustine Island , Maurice left the following saying:

"To see a pyroclastic stream from 50 meters [distance] - that is an experience that you should have!"

As a result, there was a temporary rift with Kienle. He accused the Kraffts of carelessness and carelessness and reproached them for having put him in such a dangerous position as a family man. The dispute intensified into several years of silence between the two parties. Their mutual friend Jörg Keller , who taught at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg , finally managed to invite all three to a reconciliation dinner, at which the disputes were settled. Katia and Maurice insisted, however, that the risk must always be calculated and minimized, but that this type of close observation is necessary.

The Kraffts did pioneering scientific work again at the end of June 1988 when they carried out an extensive expedition to Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania , the world's only natrocarbonatitic volcano. In 1977 Maurice had failed on the demanding ascent. In addition to the two of them, their friend and assistant André Demaison , the geographer Celia Nyamweru from Kenyatta University and Jörg Keller and his research assistant Christof Hug-Fleck were also part of the team - there were also ten local porters and guides. The group camped in the crater for a week. Numerous rock samples were taken for laboratory analysis and petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical investigations were carried out on the material. In addition, several series of measurements on the extremely low-viscosity, molten lavas, which were extracted at some points and also emerged in an intensely active lava lake, showed unusually low temperatures of only up to 540 degrees Celsius. The company, which is financially supported by the Friedrich Rinne Foundation and the German Research Foundation, established modern research on Ol Doinyo Lengai and caused a sensation in the volcanological community. The remarkable research results regarding the lava temperature and composition stimulated a second field study led by John Barry Dawson , geologist at the University of Edinburgh , in November of the same year , which was able to confirm the results of the Krafft-Keller expedition.

At the end of the decade, another noteworthy expedition took the Kraffts to the Chilean volcano Lonquimay at Christmas 1989 . Together with Oscar González-Ferrán , the most famous local volcanologist, they observed an eruption on the Navidad flank cone.

1985–1991: Awareness and educational work

View of the Armero, destroyed by masses of mud.

Mid-November 1985 sparked a comparatively small eruption of the Colombian volcano Nevado del Ruiz a mud and debris flow - a so-called lahar - out, that in the 47 km distant city of Armero were about 23,000 victims. The twelve-year-old Omayra Sánchez , who was stuck in a mud pit for three days and whose agony was followed in the media around the world due to the rapid presence of international journalists , received special attention . Like most of their colleagues, the Kraffts reacted in disbelief and shock to the disaster. In the run-up to the eruption, volcanologists and several geological institutes had repeatedly issued warnings and recommended evacuations, but these were not taken seriously by the local authorities or were not implemented at all. It was incomprehensible to the scientific community why the experts had not been listened to so much.

This eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz was the initial spark for Katia and Maurice Krafft to no longer limit their “education about volcanoes” to just bringing people closer to the brute beauty and captivating aura of the mountains of fire. Rather, they now also switched to including those who live in the shadow of the volcanoes in their considerations. The Kraffts began to work to protect them. Among other things, they shot the film Les Risques volcaniques in 1990 on behalf of UNESCO and the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) , in which they provided information about the seven most important volcanological dangers and safety measures to be taken in an emergency. Her film recordings of the severe effects of the Colombian eruption were also used in the work. In the run-up to the outbreak of Pinatubo in the Philippines in June 1991, the film was shown to the affected population, the local authorities and even to President Corazon Aquino . Together with the commitment of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and the United States Geological Survey , this contributed significantly to the fact that most people on site became aware of the acute danger situation and that around 60,000 people were in time for one of the most powerful eruptions of the 20th century. Century could be evacuated. In addition, Maurice was demonstrably a member of the Geneva- based Commission on Mitigation of Volcanic Disasters ( de .: Commission for the Mitigation of Volcanic Disasters ) within the IAVCEI at least in 1991 . With all the enthusiasm and passion for volcanoes that the two French always exuded, it remains to be noted what was formulated in a documentary six years after their death as follows:

"The Kraffts never denied the dark side of the volcanoes."

• 

  La Cité du Volcan
  (photo from 2004)

As an ambitious project, the Kraffts also pursued the establishment of the Maison du Volcan , a local information center on the activities of the Piton de la Fournaise in the city of Le Tampon on Réunion , which opened in 1992. Under the name La Cité du Volcan , it is now one of the four Musées Régionaux (regional museums) on the island. In 1986 they also launched the initiative to found Vulcania in Saint-Ours in the French department of Puy-de-Dôme . This idea of ​​a "European Park for Volcanism" was only realized several years after her death and in February 2002 Vulcania was able to open.

Death by the ounce

"With all the risks we take, it would be a real shame to die in our beds."

- Quote from Maurice Krafft

The end of May 1991, the Krafft is just kept for field research at the Mount Pelée , on the French Caribbean island of Martinique and were invited to the neighboring island of Guadeloupe to open a small exhibition about volcanism, as on May 22 by her boyfriend Harry Glicken via fax were informed about increased activities of the Japanese volcano Unzen on Kyushu . At the time, Glicken was working as a postdoc at Tokyo Metropolitan University and had been commissioned to observe this volcano when, after 198 years of calm, small phreatomagmatic eruptions began again in mid-November 1990 .

"Dear Maurice and Katia, Some time ago you ask me to inform you if there was any volcanic activity in Japan worth coming for. Anyway, there is currently eruptive activity in Kyushu at Unzen Volcano. The events started last fall with small ash eruptions, and just yesterday (21 May) there was an extrusion of a dome. I currently have no plans to go down there (it is a long way from Tokyo and I've got too many other things to do) but this could change. Anyway, please telephone me (I'm at the office until about 8:30 and then at home till 11 pm ) if you're interested. I'll try to help. "

On May 19, the authorities considered the establishment of a restricted zone for the first time on the Unzen - after all, it is only 7.3 kilometers as the crow flies from the center of the coastal city of Shimabara . From May 20, a lava dome rose in the shallow Jigokuato crater , which grew rapidly and soon covered the entire summit. After a pyroclastic flow caused by demolitions at the cathedral could be observed on the slope for the first time on the morning of either 24 or 25 May , the mayor of Shimabara, Kanichi Kanegae , ordered the evacuation of the exclusion zone, in which around 11,000 to 16,000 people lived . Such warnings and instructions were not binding at the time, however, and many tobacco farmers in the region initially stayed on their fields because it was harvest time.

Katia and Maurice Krafft immediately traveled back to France as a result of Glicken's news and after a short stopover they flew on to Tokyo . They arrived in Shimabara on the evening of May 29th and were met by Glicken there. Together with him they drove to the so-called “Fixed Point” for the first time on May 30th - a vantage point in the settlement of Teiten belonging to the village of Kita-Kamikoba, which was actually intended exclusively for scientific observation of the volcano and which was located within the exclusion zone. It was located east of the summit in a direct line of the previous pyroclastic flows, but apparently beyond their reach, about 40 meters above the valley floor of the Mizunashi River, which described a bend immediately before the "Fixed Point". Sometimes around 100 journalists gathered at this position. There were several reasons for this: On the one hand, many of them had only recently returned from the second Gulf War and were still frustrated by the inadequate research opportunities there and the limited freedom of press work. Now, at the foot of the volcano, they worked all the more dedicatedly because they had a lot of leeway in shaping their work; they were euphoric and there was a lot of competition. On the other hand, word of the arrival of the Kraffts quickly got around and many media representatives tried to get interviews or statements from the French. In one of these conversations, Maurice uttered the posthumously famous sentence:

"I'm never afraid because I've seen so many eruptions in 23 years - even if I die tomorrow, I don't mind."

The local authorities and Japanese volcanologists did not like the presence of the numerous press representatives at the "Fixed Point" and also viewed the advance of the Kraffts into the restricted zone critically. But Kazuya Ohta , who headed the Shimabara Earthquake and Volcano Observatory at Kyushu University , said in retrospect:

“I got to know the Kraffts in Hawaii. They were thrilled when I told them that their book was part of my students' teaching material. [...] They were world-famous researchers. I couldn't tell them what to do. We finally learned from them. "

In order to make contacts and get the latest news, the Kraffts and Glicken set up camp at the “Fixed Point” - but Maurice and Katia initially agreed that they would have to look for their own location. Otherwise their film recordings and photos would not have had a unique selling point. Maurice led the group to a meadow a little further west (closer to the volcano), where they settled down a few hundred meters from the river bank and set up their equipment. Her new location was four kilometers from the summit and even more exposed than the "Fixed Point" and Katia first expressed concerns about possible dangers. Maurice reassured her by reminding her that all previous pyroclastic flows of the ounce had been three kilometers or less. There was also a tobacco drying hut near the meadow at an agricultural center, which had stone walls and steel doors. The owner gave them permission to use the hut as a shelter in an emergency.

The weather turned out to be a problem in those days: Continuous rain and low-hanging clouds made volcano observation almost impossible. The fact that the summit of the ounce was not visible also harbored the risk of an approaching pyroclastic current possibly not perceiving until late. After three days the Kraffts still had not a single usable picture; The mood was tense and Maurice in particular was becoming increasingly frustrated - the trip did not meet his expectations. In addition, the French had no opportunity for one of their usual sightseeing flights over the mountain and thus could not get an overview. The pilots refused to take off in the rain and the Japanese media representatives had reserved all available helicopters in case the weather improved. Since numerous journalists were also staying in their hostel, the Kraffts and Glicken changed their accommodation on June 2nd to find some rest. Nevertheless, the situation hit the Kraffts, who otherwise worked so harmoniously, and Japanese reporters - some had followed them to the new location in the meadow - noticed that they looked tired, jittery and exhausted.

Panorama of the Unzen in early 2007 looking west. The lava dome at the summit and the mountain slopes and valleys devastated by numerous pyroclastic flows can be clearly seen . Before 1991 the various peaks of the volcano presented themselves as wooded, hardly distinguishable elevations. Due to the lava dome, the mountain gained 240 meters in height; In addition, almost 170 million cubic meters of pyroclastic sediments were deposited in the valleys, so that the valley floor rose by up to 170 meters in large areas.

On the morning of June 3, Katia and Maurice Krafft received news of an impending eruption of the Pinatubo in the Philippines . Katia advocated flying there. Maurice, however, favored another stay at the Unzen, especially since the sky was now clearing up a little. Ultimately, he prevailed and the scientists went to their vantage point again.

Overview map of the pyroclastic flow of the Unzen from June 3, 1991. The location of the Kraffts is marked with a cross.

Between 4:08 p.m. and 4:14 p.m., the eastern half of the lava dome and underlying, older and unstable flank rock collapsed. A total of around 500,000 cubic meters of dense-rock equivalent (DRE) were mobilized. The pyroclastic current - larger than any previous one at the Ounce - rolled over the Mizunashi river valley at a speed of almost 100 kilometers per hour and temperatures around 450 degrees Celsius. The basal, material-rich avalanche of the current reached a length of about 3.2 to 3.6 kilometers. On top of it, however, was a hot, volatile gas-ash mixture that separated from the main body of the stream, spread to neighboring valleys and extended 800 meters further. Almost two and a half minutes after the partial disintegration of the lava dome, this high-energy cloud reached Kita-Kamikobe and thus both the location of the Kraffts and the "Fixed Point". 43 people died - most immediately; some were able to be transported to Shimabara hospital before they too succumbed to their burns. In addition to Katia and Maurice Krafft and Harry Glicken, the dead included numerous journalists, firefighters and taxi drivers. The pyroclastic current also injured several people and destroyed 179 houses. Two factors could have favored the unusual range and violence of this pyroclastic flow: On the one hand, the bottom of the Mizunashi valley was sharply raised by the lahars that had passed away in May , so that the flow could more easily “jump” the bounding ranges of hills. On the other hand, there were two waterfalls on the upper reaches of the river, which the pyroclastic flow passed on its way. This could have resulted in phreatomagmatic explosions , which additionally fragmented the ash particles in the flow and in this way increased the density of the flow and the expansion of the gas-ash cloud on top.

Finally, on June 5, local authorities and the Shimabara police announced that military search parties had recovered the bodies of three foreigners. The Kraffts had been found near their rental car, lying side by side under a thin layer of pyroclastic ash. They were burned beyond recognition and could only be identified from a few personal items, such as Maurice's watch and camera. The location of the bodies suggested that Glicken was the first of the trio to flee and that the Kraffts had stayed at their location for longer. Possibly they were still filming and photographing the approaching stream - however, the film material was destroyed by the heat, so that one can only guess. Together with the other dead, they were first laid out in Shimabara in the Anyo-ji shrine, which is dedicated to the victims of the 1792 eruption. On June 8th, the Kraffts were cremated as part of a Catholic funeral service . It was later transferred to France, where the urns were buried in the Pfastatt and Soultz-Haut-Rhin cemeteries.

Characters

"I am the whale and Katia is the pilot fish ."

- Maurice's own characterization with regard to the relationship with Katia

Katia and Maurice Krafft have often been described as an unequal couple. This related to both their physical appearance and their different personalities.

At just 1.63 meters, Katia was a petite and elegant person. She always had a balanced temperament, was considerate in dealing with others and also always curious and inquisitive. In addition to her “quiet smile”, friends also emphasized the fact that she combined personal modesty with strong self-confidence in a very appealing way. However, they also noticed that she was just as determined, strong-willed, and observant as Maurice. During the numerous excursions she was able to bring in her strengths, which included methodical work, pragmatism and organizational talent.

Maurice was the opposite of his wife in almost every way. He measured 1.83 meters and had a sturdy stature, which was optionally described as "Herculean" or "grown like an oak". With a penetrating, resolute voice and his sometimes Rabelaisian laugh, he made himself heard and with his charm he quickly won sympathy in society. He was well aware of this effect on his environment. In addition to being contentious in academic discourse, he was characterized by the fact that he was ambitious, opinionated and assertive, and that he was always extremely direct and open in discussions with colleagues. Maurice had a very sharp mind, a brilliant memory, was considered to be very well read and had acquired extensive knowledge from a wide variety of subjects. He was allergic to human vanities and often rebelled against authorities. In a bad mood, he could get rude in interpersonal dealings. His extraversion was reflected, among other things, in the nickname "Lucifer Boum-Boum", which he gave himself in some of his lectures. When it comes to work, Maurice set the highest standards and often pushed himself and others around him to their physical limits with his ambition and determination.

Maurice in particular often expressed his enthusiasm for volcanoes in very striking remarks and bon motes , which the French press liked to take up. However, he could also appear profound and extremely reflective and convey natural-philosophical thoughts in his remarks. He was also known for planning some seemingly adventurous projects to push the limits of volcanological observation and field work even further. For example, since he was a student he had the dream of navigating a lava flow in a fire-proof canoe . In 1987 he said in relation to this:

“Of course you can't really jump on the lava and [drift] down the lava flow. This is my dream: I would like to build a canoe out of titanium or something like that. And going down the lava flow in a canoe must be fantastic - taking temperature and viscosity measurements and so on in the flow as you go down. If we can find a company to finance the canoe, I'll sit in the canoe to drift down the lava flow. "

Even if most of these projects were never implemented, Katia was often critical of the sometimes very idiosyncratic and bizarre ideas of her husband and feared a loss of credibility within the scientific community. As a result, there were several more serious differences of opinion between the two.

Jörg Keller, close friend and long-term work colleague of the couple, emphasized in his obituary:

“The wonderful thing about the life and work of the Kraffts is that you can't talk about Maurice or Katia separately. They were a unique entity. [...] Whoever got to know Katia and Maurice well was taken with their personalities, their open-mindedness, their sense of humor and their friendly nature. "

Meaning and criticism

Work and effect

“When I see an eruption, it is sometimes so beautiful that I just put my instruments down and look. That means I can not only study the eruption - I also want to film volcanoes to show them to other people. "

- Maurice Krafft on his view of the profession

The work of the Kraffts initially met with some rejection in scientific circles. At best, they were labeled “extravagant” by their critics; but there were also voices who saw them as troublemakers in science. Some of them denied the scientific nature of their activities for their entire life and discredited their work. Katia and Maurice Krafft were well aware of the unusual combination of their fields of work, but always saw themselves as volcanologists. For example, Maurice once said:

“I'm not a filmmaker. I think I'm good at filming volcanoes - but don't ask me to film a landscape, because I can't. I am a stray volcano explorer who has to make films to be able to stray. "

He was referring to the necessity of "unscientific work" in order to be able to finance the actual research. In addition to their committed educational work in the services of IAVCEI and UNESCO, the main argument for this self-image is that the Kraffts, apart from their public work for a lay audience, also published more than a dozen scientific articles ( see corresponding section ) in renowned specialist journals in which they published the Published research results of their excursions. Her magnum opus is the article published in 1990 together with the Freiburg geochemist Jörg Keller after the trip to Ol Doinyo Lengai regarding its effusive, natrocarbonatitic activity. In addition, they have taken part in numerous international specialist conferences over the years and have maintained a lively exchange with their colleagues around the world. For example, Keller particularly emphasized her participation in the West Indies Explosive Volcanism Workshop in Martinique and Guadeloupe , which took place from March 6 to 16, 1989 and was organized by the IAVCEI Working Group on Explosive Volcanism. In later years he added:

“[There is] no one who has come this far in the photo and film documentation of volcanic phenomena. This is a documentation on which science is based and which has now undoubtedly placed both of them in the category of the very important volcanologists of our time. "

In contrast, however, there is a quote from Maurice from 1989, which shows that he also saw himself as an adventurer, author and filmmaker:

“In volcanology, we don't always deal with a particular problem with the aid of a microscope or a seismograph . In a year, I'll be a writer, a filmmaker, a scientist, an adventurer and so on - and when you mix it all together, it's fantastic. "

It is indisputable, however, that the Kraffts became famous especially because of their popular scientific work and achieved lasting importance. Like no geoscientist before or after them, they brought their work to the general public and endeavored to get people excited about volcanoes. Over the years, more than four million visitors have seen her lectures and film screenings, and her numerous books have been translated into up to twelve languages. They were also the first to write children's books on volcanoes to introduce young people to the subject. The way in which the Kraffts worked with high public appeal played a decisive role in the fact that volcanology lost its status as an almost unknown branch of science and moved into the public consciousness of at least the Central European population.

At a time when science in general, but also volcanology in particular, was becoming more and more specialized, the Kraffts kept a global view of the volcanoes and were interested in all aspects of recent volcanism. Her diverse work over almost two and a half decades shaped and impressed her colleagues and inspired many imitators. The fact that Katia Krafft was the first female volcanologist to appear in public is also an important step towards the emancipation of women in the geosciences. Mind you, she was not the first female volcanologist - in the generation before her, for example, the Russian mineralogist Sofia Naboko (mother of Igor Menjailow ) and her compatriot Alewtina Bilinkina were already active, who concentrated on volcanism . But through her frequent media appearances and her partly popular science work, Krafft was the first to gain public awareness. In doing so, she made a significant contribution to opening up the geosciences as a field of work for women. The death of the couple was mourned by numerous scientists around the world. Obituaries appeared in various specialist journals . For example, your friend Jörg Keller wrote in the Bulletin of Volcanology in 1992 :

“We still can't believe that Katia and Maurice are no longer with us. As time progresses, the shock of the first news gives way to deep and lingering sadness. What committed and inspiring volcanologists, what good friends the volcanological community has lost! [...] The volcanological community can only join in: Thank you for everything you gave us, your unique example of dedication to our common goals, your stimulation and friendship, your professionalism and your message regarding the beauty and dangers of volcanoes. You have made this message understandable to a very large audience all over the world. "

Lindsay McClelland , then a member of the Global Volcanism Program (GVP) of the Smithsonian Institution , summed up with regard to the extraordinary approach of the Kraffts "They were the last of a blow."

Awards

• 1967: Research grant from the Leisure and Culture Committee of the Mines de potasse d'Alsace (Maurice)
• 1967: Travel grant from the Prefecture of the Haut-Rhin (Maurice) department
• 1969: Prix ​​de la Vocation of the Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet Foundation (Katia; presented by Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas )
• 1969: Prix ​​national à l'initiative des jeunes of the Ministry of Youth and Sport (Équipe Vulcain)
• 1975: Prix ​​de la Société de Géographie
• 1975: Prix ​​Liotard de l'Exploration of the Société des explorateurs français (together with Roland Haas ; presented by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing )

In order to honor the couple's tireless commitment to imparting knowledge and their ties to their homeland, numerous educational establishments and associated buildings in Alsace and other French communities bear the names of the two volcanologists. For example, in 1995, at the suggestion of Katia's mother, the Collège Pfastatt was named after her daughter and son-in-law. In addition, colleges in Eckbolsheim and Béziers , primary schools in Houdemont , Ottmarsheim and Soultz-Haut-Rhin as well as a culture and sports center in Wattwiller bear her name. In Mulhouse , near the Stade de l'Ill , is the Rond-Point Maurice et Katia Krafft and not far from this roundabout , a student residence built in 1999 was baptized in the name of the couple. A place on the Mühlhauser campus of the University of Upper Alsace was also named after the Kraffts. Furthermore, there are in the district plan of the Quatre Seigneurs the southern French city of Montpellier , the Rue Maurice et Katia Krafft .

In 1997, the University of Hawaii at Hilo- based Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes (CSAV) established the Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Scholarship Fund . It grants students and scientists from developing countries financial support to enable them to participate in the costly CSAV course "International Training Program in Volcano Monitoring Methods". The fund is consciously oriented towards the educational work of the Kraffts and their efforts to educate people in potentially hazardous areas about the risks posed by the volcanoes. In the meantime (as of December 2016) the money has benefited 36 students. Furthermore, a crater of the Piton de la Fournaise , which formed on March 9, 1998, was named after the Kraffts. It was also up for debate to do the same with the crater glacier of Mount St. Helens . Ultimately, however, the United States Board on Geographic Names decided against it in June 2006. The IAVCEI struck in 2002 the creation of a Katia and Maurice Krafft dedicated award before - this Krafft Medal is awarded every four years since of 2004.

Estate and media processing

The couple's scientific legacy consists of a collection, unique in the world and with great meticulousness over several decades, of a wide variety of objects and documents that are in some way related to volcanoes. Katia and Maurice Krafft stored more than 5000 books, over 4000 paintings, drawings and engravings in their house in Wattwiller , as well as several thousand historical documents, engravings , comics, incunabula , postcards, postage stamps and the like. They paid special attention to the history of volcanology as well as to historical evidence that documented how people dealt with volcanoes in earlier centuries - for example, the first engravings of volcanoes from the pre-Baroque era . In addition, they had melted table silver from Saint-Pierre during the eruption of the Montagne Pelée in 1902, volcanic bombs nearly 1.2 meters long and burned tree trunk segments. In addition, there were a total of 709 boxes with thousands of hours of 16 mm film material recorded by Maurice as well as several hundred thousand photos of Katia - the information ranges from a minimum of 250,000 to 300,000 up to 450,000 recordings. In fact, in terms of size, the Krafft's volcanological collection far exceeds that of the Smithsonian Institution . Friends described the house as a "volcanic temple" and an "inspiring place where science, modern media technology, history, art and collectibles from volcanoes around the world have been blended into a unique lifestyle."

The Kraffts' photographic estate is now in the Center Image Lorraine in Nancy, which is located at 9 rue Michel Ney in a former tobacco factory.

From 1995 onwards, numerous photographs by the Kraffts - either almost 60,000 or even all of them - were in the possession of the Association Images & Volcans, which was looked after by Jacques Durieux and Jean Louis Cheminée , two former colleagues of Katia and Maurice. The collection is now deposited and archived in the Center Image Lorraine (formerly Conservatoire régional de l'image; CRI) in Nancy . The rest of the extensive estate is in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris . Over the years numerous exhibitions have taken place, in which selected photos of the Kraffts were presented. The Vulcania touring exhibition "Elements" with 68 photographs could be viewed for the first time in Germany from March 6 to May 27, 2008 in the foyer of the Geological Service North Rhine-Westphalia in Krefeld . The couple's distinctive red hats - which they did not wear on the day of their death - and Maurice's wristwatch, which stopped at 4:18 p.m., are also on display in the Vulcania .

Aside from the various television appearances mentioned above, the couple was portrayed in a 1987 one-hour episode of the PBS television series Nature entitled The Volcano Watchers . Two years later, Michael Rosenfeld documented the work of the Kraffts in 1989 in the almost hour-long National Geographic film Mountains of Fire , which was shown at the 1991 Trento Film Festival, among other places . In addition, at least three posthumous film projects dealt with the life and work of volcanologists. Directed by Maryse Bergonzat and produced by the BBC and Arte , the 90-minute documentary Maurice et Katia Krafft au rythme de la terre was made in 1995 , which was broadcast in a shortened version on various German TV channels under the title Researcher at the Gate to Hell . The National Geographic Society published Volcano in 1997 . Nature's Inferno, a one-hour documentary film that traced the most important stages in the life of the Kraffts. In 2011, Jérôme Cornuau shot the award-winning compilation film Face au volcan tueur . Katia Krafft is played by Claude Perron and Maurice by Mathias Mlekuz . The film was broadcast on May 21, 2013 on France 2 and on October 17, 2012 under the German title Dem Feuerberg fell in a shortened version on the Austrian private television channel ServusTV . It was the 81st episode in the Terra Mater series . Finally, on March 23, 2014, it was broadcast on SRF 1 .

Publications

Scientific articles

Some of these articles were first forwarded by the authors to well-known scientists, who then submitted them to the specialist journals for publication. These intermediaries included, for example, Jean Orcel , Jean Wyart , Maurice Roques (1911–1997) and Georges Millot (1917–1991).

• With Marcel Chaigneau : Sur les gaz volcaniques de Vulcano (Iles Eoliennes) . In: Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences , 1970, vol. 271, série D, pages 165-167.
• With Gilbert Féraud. : Realization d'une carte des températures, dans l'infrarouge du sol du cratère du Vulcano (îles Éoliennes, Italie) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , February 1971, vol. 272, series D, pages 207-210.
• With François Couillard / Bartaire, J.-G. : Analysis of the gaz par un chromatographe portatif sur le volcan Vulcano (îles éoliennes, Italie) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , February 1971, vol. 272, series D, pages 928-931.
• With Jean-Marie Litschig / Sejourné, C .: Mesures de déformations sur le volcan Vulcano (îles Éoliennes, Italie) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , 1975, Vol. 280, pp. 153-156.
• With M. Chaigneau: Sur les rapports entre chlore et brome dans les gaz volcaniques de douze volcans indonesiens (Sumatra, Java, Flores et Sulawesi) . In: Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences , 1976, Vol. 282, Series D, No. 4, pp. 341-343.
• With M. Chaigneau: Composition of volcanic gases emitted by the volcanos of Indonesia . In: Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences , 1977, Vol. 284, Series D, No. 6, pp. 429-431.
• With Alain Gérente : L'activité du Piton de la Fournaise entre octobre 1972 and may 1973 (île de la Réunion, océan India) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , 1977, Vol. 284, pages 607-610.
• With A. Gérente: L'activité du Piton de la Fournaise entre novembre 1975 et avril 1976 (île de la Réunion, Océan India) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , 1977, Vol. 284, pp. 2091-2094.
• With M. Chaigneau: Les gaz occlus dans les bombes volcaniques de l'activité du Piton de la Fournaise en 1975–1976 (Ile de la Réunion) . In: Bulletin of Volcanology , March 1980, Vol. 43, No. 1, Sn 225-232.
• With Maurice Roques : L'éruption volcanique du Kartala en avril 1977 (Grande Comore, océan India) . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , 1982, series II, vol. 294, pages 753-758.
• La réapparition du lac de lave dans le cratère du volcan Nyiragongo de juin à septembre 1982 (Kivu-Zaire). Histoire, dynamisme, débits et risques volcaniques . In: Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences , 1983, series II, Vol. 296, No. 10, pp. 797-802.
• With Jörg Keller : Temperature measurements in carbonatite lava lakes and flows from Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania . In: Science , July 1989, Vol. 245, No. 4914, pp. 168-170.
• With J. Keller: Composition of natrocarbonatite lavas, Oldoinyo Lengai 1988 . In: Terra abstracts , 1989, Vol. 1, page 286.
• With M. Javoy, F. Pineau, Thomas Staudacher , Jean Louis Cheminee : Mantle volatiles sampled from a continental rift. The 1988 eruption of Oldoinyo Lengai . In: Terra abstracts , 1989, Vol. 1, page 324.
• With J. Keller: Effusive natrocarbonatite activity of Oldoinyo Lengai, June 1988 . In: Bulletin of Volcanology , November 1990, Vol. 52, No. 8, pp. 629-645.

Books

Maurice

• Notre Terre - une planète vivante . Librairie Hachette, Paris , 1971.

• New edition 1978: La Terre - une planète vivante . Librairie Hachette, Paris, ISBN 978-2-01-003657-6 .
• New edition 1984: Volcans et dérives des continents . Librairie Hachette, Paris.
• German edition: Our earth - a living planet. A journey of discovery through the history of the earth . Herder Verlag , Freiburg im Breisgau , 1981, ISBN 978-3-451-18790-2 .

• Guide des volcans d'Europe . Delachaux et Niestlé, Neuchâtel , 1974, ISBN 978-2-603-00006-9 .

• German translation by Irène and Alberto Samaniego : Guide to the volcanoes of Europe . 3 volumes, Ferdinand Enke Verlag , Stuttgart , 1984 (Volume 1: General, Iceland / Volume 2: Germany, France / Volume 3: Italy, Greece).

• Questions à un vulcanologue - Maurice Krafft répond . Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1981, ISBN 978-2-01-007905-4 .
• Guide des volcans des Comores . Self-published , Paris, 1982.
• Guide des volcans des Virunga . Self-published, Paris, 1983.

• German edition: Guide to the Virunga volcanoes . Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart, 1990.

• Les Volcans et leurs secrets . Editions Nathan, Paris, 1984.
• Volcans et éruptions . Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1985, ISBN 978-2-01-011510-3 .

• New edition 1997.

• With Roland Bénard : Au cœur de la Fournaise . Editions Roland Bénard, Saint-Denis , 1986.
• With Luc Favreau ( ill. ): Les volcans, des montagnes vivantes . Editions Gallimard , Paris, 1989.

• German translation by Christine Baier : Vulkane . In the series “Discovering the World”, Ravensburger Buchverlag Otto Maier, Ravensburg , 1990, ISBN 3-473-35793-6 .

• With François Dominique de Larouzière : Guide des volcans d'Europe et des Canaries . Delachaux et Niestlé, Neuchâtel, 1991, ISBN 978-2-603-01155-3 .

• New edition: Neuchâtel, 1999.

• The feux de la terre. Histoires de volcans . Découvertes Gallimard series (n ° 113), Éditions Gallimard, Paris, 1991, ISBN 978-2-07-042900-4 .

• New edition: Paris, 2003.
• German translation by Jörg Keller : Vulkane, Feuer der Erde . In the series “Adventure History”, Vol. 32 , Ravensburger Buchverlag Otto Maier, Ravensburg, 1993, ISBN 978-3-473-51032-0 .

Katia

• With Gilles Bachelet ( Ill. ): Le Monde merveilleux des volcans . Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1984.

• German translation by Michael Halévy : Vulkane . In the series “First Answer Book for Children”, Tessloff Verlag , Hamburg , 1985, ISBN 3-7886-0482-4 .

• With Pierre Kohler (text): Volcans . Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1985, ISBN 978-2-01-010004-8 .

• German translation by Traudl Lessing : Vulkane - Kraft aus der Erde . In the series “Discovering Knowledge”, Breitschopf Verlag, Vienna , 1987, ISBN 978-3-7004-0431-6 .

Together

• With Roland Haas : Volcans et tremblements de terre . Les Deux Coqs d'Or, Paris 1971, ISBN 2-7192-0204-5 .

• New editions: 1976, 1979, 1982, 1992.

• À l'assaut des volcans. Islande - Indonésie . Presses de la Cité, Paris, 1975, ISBN 2-261-00190-8 .
• With Max Gérard , Eugène Ionesco : Les volcans . Draeger-Vilo, Montrouge , 1975.
• With Roland Bénard : La Fournaise - Volcan actif de l'île de la Réunion . Editions Roland Bénard, Saint-Denis, 1977.
• Volcans - le réveil de la Terre . Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1979, ISBN 2-01-005430-X .
• Dans l'antre du Diable - volcans d'Afrique, Canaries et Réunion . Presses de la Cité, Paris, 1981, ISBN 2-258-00904-9 .
• Les plus beaux volcans, d'Alaska en Antarctique et Hawaï . Éditions Minerva-Solar, Paris, 1985, ISBN 978-2-263-00993-8 .

• New edition 1994: Les plus beaux volcans . PML Editions.

• Les volcans du monde . Mondo Verlag , Vevey / Lausanne , 1986.

• German translation by Robert Schnieper : The volcanoes of the world . Mondo Verlag, Vevey / Lausanne, 1986.

• Volcans du monde . Groupe Flammarion , Paris, 1987, ISBN 978-2-08-200457-2 .
• Objectifs volcans . Nathan, Paris, 1988, ISBN 2-7382-0555-0 .

• Relaunched as: Volcans . Editions de La Martinière, Paris, 1992, ISBN 978-2-73820-555-1 .

• Au cœur des volcans . Place Stanislas Editions, Nancy , 2010, ISBN 978-2-35578-067-7 .

Movies

• Volcans d'Europe
• Volcans d'Asie
• Volcans d'Afrique
• Les plus beaux volcans du monde
• 1987: L'Homme face aux Volcans I (26 min)
• 1988: Vingt ans à l'assaut des volcans (32 + 22 min).
• 1988: La Fournaise, un volcan dans la mer (26 min) - with Alain Gérente .
• 1989: L'Homme face aux Volcans II (26 min)
• 1989: Katmai et St Helens (USA), les deux plus grosses éruptions du siècle (26 min).
• 1990: Volcans de Hawaï et éruptions hawaïennes or Sur les volcans d'Hawaii (25 min).
• 1990: Les Risques volcaniques - (on behalf of UNESCO and IAVCEI ) .

Remarks

literature

• André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble , 2011, ISBN 978-2-7234-8402-2 .

Web links

• Literature by and about Katia Krafft in the catalog of the German National Library
• Literature by and about Maurice Krafft in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Interview with Maurice and Katia Krafft" ( Memento from June 7, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). In: Volcano Quarterly , Vol. 1, No. 1, January 1992; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
2. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 50.
3. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 49.
4. ^ B. Poyer: Homage to Charles Conrad . (PDF) In: Bulletin de la Société Volcanologique Genève , March 2007, No. 67, pp. 3-4.
5. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 51.
6. ^ Frances C. Locher, Ann Evory: Contemporary Authors . Volumes 65-68, Gale Cengage Learning, Farmington Hills , 1977, ISBN 978-0-8103-0029-3 , page 344.
7. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 31.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Frédéric Urban: "Les epoux kraft ou l'alsace et les volcans". On January 4th, 2010 on furban.free.fr . Retrieved August 25, 2016.
9. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 34.
10. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 35.
11. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 37.
12. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 45.
13. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 64.
14. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 71.
15. ↑ ^{a b} “Les archives de Pfastatt: Katia et Maurice Krafft”. April 16, 2005 on pfastatt.typepad.com . Retrieved August 25, 2016.
16. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Ned Kelly: The Volcano Watchers . Episode of the PBS television series Nature , 1987.
17. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 77.
18. ↑ ^{a b c d} Aram Boyajian, Alexander Grasshoff, Bert Haanstra, Jack Kaufman, David Seltzer: Volcano. Nature's Inferno . National Geographic film, 1997.
19. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 107.
20. ↑ Bulletin Report "May 1979 (SEAN 04:05)" on the Soufrière . Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution ; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
21. ^ ^{A b c d} Stanley N. Williams , Fen Montaigne: Surviving Galeras . Houghton Mifflin, Boston , 2001, ISBN 978-0-618-03168-9 , 116.
22. ^ ^{A b} Ron Russell: "In Pursuit of Deadly Volcanoes. Three who died in Japan's eruption belonged to an elite group engaged in daredevil research considered among the most glamorous and dangerous in science. ” In: Los Angeles Times , June 25, 1991; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
23. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 103.
24. ^ Stanley N. Williams , Fen Montaigne: Surviving Galeras . Houghton Mifflin, Boston , 2001, ISBN 978-0-618-03168-9 , pages 119-120.
25. ↑ Bulletin Report "August 1986 (SEAN 11:08)" on Mount St. Augustine . Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution ; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
26. ^ ^{A b} Stanley N. Williams , Fen Montaigne: Surviving Galeras . Houghton Mifflin, Boston , 2001, ISBN 978-0-618-03168-9 , page 122.
27. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Jörg Keller : Memorial for Katja and Maurice Krafft . In: Bulletin of Volcanology , September 1992, Vol. 54, No. 7, pp. 613-614.
28. ↑ ^{a b} Christof Hug-Fleck: Expedition to the coldest volcano - A report . vulkane.net; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
29. ↑ Frank Möckel: "The history of the exploration of the volcano Oldoinyo Lengai, Tanzania". ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In December 2005 on tboeckel.de . Retrieved August 25, 2016. 
30. ^ IAVCEI News . In: Bulletin of Volcanology , August 1991, Vol. 53, No. 6, p. 506.
31. ^ Stanley N. Williams , Fen Montaigne: Surviving Galeras . Houghton Mifflin, Boston , 2001, ISBN 978-0-618-03168-9 , page 120.
32. ^ Fisher, Richard V .: Out of the crater. Chronicles of a volcanologist . Princeton University Press , Princeton , 1999, ISBN 0-691-07017-2 , pages 97-98.
33. ↑ ^{a b c} Setsuya Nakada, Hiroshi Shimizu, Kazuya Ohta: Overview of the 1990–1995 eruption at Unzen Volcano . In: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research , April 1999, Vol. 89, No. 1-4, pp. 1-22.
34. ↑ ^{a b c} Jérôme Cornuau: Fall for the fire mountain . Compilation film, 2011.
35. ↑ Kazuo Takahashi (Ed.): Unzen-Fugendake Eruption Executive Summary 1990–1995 . (PDF) sabo-int.org (International Sabo Association), November 2007; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
36. ^ Striving toward a disaster resistant country . ( Memento of the original from February 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) Unzen Restoration Project Office, Kyushu Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, 2011; Retrieved August 25, 2016. 
37. ↑ Richard Roscoe: Information on the ounce. photovolcanica.com; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
38. ↑ Takahiro Yamamoto, Shinji Takarada, Shigeru Suto: Pyroclastic flows from the 1991 eruption of Unzen volcano, Japan . In: Bulletin of Volcanology , February 1993, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 166-175.
39. ^ André Demaison: Les diables des volcans. Maurice and Katia Krafft . Éditions Glénat, Grenoble, 2011, page 46.
40. ↑ Ignacio Lagarda Lagarda: Un flujo piroclastico de amor . casadelasideas.com; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
41. ↑ Bernard Duyck: Ces photographs qui nous enchantent: Katia et Maurice Krafft . earth-of-fire.com, August 15, 2011; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
42. ↑ Andrea Kath: Anniversary of the death of Katia and Maurice Krafft . Radio report in the "ZeitZeichen" series, broadcast on WDR 5 on June 3, 2016.
43. ↑ Michael Rosenfeld: Mountains of Fire . National Geographic film, 1989.
44. ↑ Information on the Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Scholarship Fund . University of Hawaii at Hilo ; Retrieved December 20, 2016.
45. ^ Encyclopedia entry on Katia and Maurice Krafft. In: Encyclopædia Universalis ; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
46. ↑ Luc Souvet, Pascal Dorr: Hommage a Katia et Maurice Krafft . fournaise.info; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
47. ^ Presentation of the documentary film Maurice et Katia Krafft au rythme de la terre . film-documentaire.fr; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
48. ↑ Announcement of the 2001 Volcans Passions exhibition at the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de la Ville de Genève . City of Geneva ; Retrieved August 25, 2016.
49. ↑ "Exposition de photos de volcans". (PDF) In: Photo mensuelle de la Société Volcanologique Genève , 1995, page 3.