Haroun Tazieff

Haroun Tazieff , born the May 11th 1914 with Warsaw and deceased the February 2nd 1998, was a geologist, a volcanologist, successively naturalized Belgian then French. Media character, he was a pioneer of the communication between the volcanologists and the general public.

Biography

Haroun Tazieff was born with Warsaw, then part of Russia tsarist, a father Tatar, born with Yangi-Yer, doctor in Médecine, and of a Russian mother, born in Dvinsk which was chemist and doctor of political sciences. His/her father dies in the face at the beginning of the First World War. With his mother, he emigrates towards the Belgium at the end of 1920 when he resides Apatride, before receiving Belgian nationality in 1936.

Student, boxer (university champion of Belgium), then champion of Katanga, resistant, companion of Cousteau on the Calypso, speleologist and volcanologist, Haroun Tazieff followed studies in Russia and Belgium. He was graduate Agricultural engineer of the Agronomic Faculty of Science of Gembloux in 1938, soldier, resisting and graduate engineer geologist of the Université of Liege in 1944.

He is buried with the Cimetière of Passy to Paris.

Scientific career

He was successively:

assistant of faculty;
engineer with the tin mines of the Katanga (Belgian ex-Congo), in 1945;
geologist with the geological service of the Belgian Congo, the eruption of the Kituro which he studied in 1948, determined its passion for the Volcanologie, and he launched out in the study, “on the sharp one”, of phenomenology of the eruptions and their forecast, and in the popularization of volcanology;
part-time lecturer to the Universit3e libre de Bruxelles, in 1957, where it animates the National center of volcanology;
part-time lecturer to the Faculty of Science of Paris, in 1958, it is named director of the laboratory of volcanology of the Institute of physique of the sphere, in Paris and settles in France. It was devoted to long series of volcanologic forwardings (valley of Ten Thousand Smoke in Alaska, Afar, Nyragongo, Erta Alé, Mont Erebus, and many other volcanos like the Etna, Faïal, the Soufrière of the Guadeloupe…) ;
part-time lecturer to the Faculty of Science of Orsay;
in 1972, Master then Research director at CNRS, the laboratory of volcanology of the Center of the low radioactivities of Gif-sur-Yvette which specialized in particular in eruptive gases;
president of the scientific advice of the institute of volcanology (Rome, Catane, Pisa);
responsible for the service volcanologic of the Institute of physique of the sphere of Paris and person in charge of the monitoring of the Peeled Mountain with the Martinique and of the Sulfur mine to the Guadeloupe of 1973 with 1976;
in 1981, police chief being studied and the prevention of the natural disasters.

Of 1984 with 1986, this man of left was Secretary of State in charge of the prevention of the technological and natural risks major near Laurent Fabius, Prime Minister of François Mitterrand.

He was president of the Higher committee of the volcanic risks of 1988 with 1995, and member of the Philomatique company and Explorers club of New York.

Eruption of the Sulfur mine

Following worrying demonstrations of the volcano of the Sulfur mine in Guadeloupe in 1976, a violent polemic opposed Haroun Tazieff, Michel Feuillard, director of the observatory volcanologic of the Guadeloupe, and Claude Allègre, then its superior with the Institut of physique of the sphere of Paris. Tazieff held the eruption for benign, while Feuillard, Allègre and professor Brousse, left on the spot, advised the evacuation of 70.000 close inhabitants, which was decided by the public authorities. The volcano was calmed without causing damage. Tazieff was based on the temperature of gases and the absence of fresh volcanic glass in the ashes rejected by the volcano to affirm that the volcano was going to be calmed and that there was no risk of volcanic Clouds, as opposed to what forecast Claude Allègre and professor Brousse.

In the case of the Holy Mount Helens, in 1980, Haroun Tazieff had considered to be this volcano inoffensive and had qualified it “small Sulfur mine”, the spectacular explosion which has occurred on May 18th of the same year, killing 57 people, gave wrong to Haroun Tazieff.

Let us recall that its post of Secretary in charge of the Prevention of the natural and technological risks major will not be taken again in March 1986 in the Chirac Government.

Paradoxically, it is joined today, beyond the tomb, by its adversary of 1976, Claude Allègre, in the denunciation of what it regarded as false true fears and " pumps with finances" (hole of ozone, asbestos, and greenhouse effect in particular).

Anecdote

Haroun Tazieff had one unquestionable admiration for Jules Verne .

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