Katia and Maurice Krafft
Catherine Joséphine "Katia" Krafft (née "Conrad"; 17 April 1942 – 3 June 1991) and her husband, Maurice Paul Krafft (25 March 1946 – 3 June 1991), were Alsatian French volcanologists who died in a pyroclastic flow on Mount Unzen, in Japan, on June 3, 1991. The Kraffts were known for being pioneers in filming, photographing and recording volcanoes, often getting within feet of lava flows. Their obituary appeared in the "Bulletin of Volcanology". Werner Herzog's documentary "Into the Inferno" (2016) highlights them. A documentary of their career using their footage has been produced Fire of Love (2022  film). Early life. Katia. Katia Joséphine Krafft (née Conrad) was born on April 17, 1942, in the commune of Guebwiller, France. Her parents were Charles and Madeleine Conrad. Katia graduated from the University of Strasbourg with degrees in physics and chemistry. Maurice. Maurice Krafft was born on March 26, 1946, in the city and commune of Mulhouse, located in the Alsace region of France. Krafft discovered his interest in volcanoes at seven years old while on a family trip to Naples and Stromboli, joining the Société géologique de France (Geological Society of France) at age 15. He studied geology at  the University of Besançon then the University of Strasbourg. Jointly. The two met on a bench at the university and got married in 1970. With little money, they saved up for a trip to Stromboli and photographed its near-continuous eruption. Finding that people were interested in this documentation of eruptions, they soon made a career out of filming volcano eruptions, which afforded them the ability to travel the globe. Career. The Kraffts were often the first to be at an active volcano, and were respected and envied by many volcanologists. Their footage of the effects of volcanic eruptions was  a considerable factor in gaining the cooperation of local authorities faced with volcanic threats. One notable example of this was after the onset of activity at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, where their video of the effects of the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia was shown to large numbers of people, including Philippine President Cory Aquino, and convinced many skeptics that evacuation of the area would be necessary. Katia started her career by taking gas samples of volcanoes and documenting eruptions by observing them in person. To fund her trips, Katia wrote many books about her  findings, pioneering a new area of volcanic coverage. She also made a documentary, "The Volcano Watchers", for the US PBS show "Nature". On January 23, 1973, Katia was called to Southern Iceland to study an extinct volcano that had suddenly erupted after thousands of years of inactivity. Since volcanoes are unpredictable and dangerous, many scientists were afraid to observe eruptions in person. Katia, however, would go right to the edge of a volcano. Her fearlessness and up-close documentation led to her fame and success as a volcanologist. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Katia continued to document volcanoes through photography  while her husband, Maurice, captured them on video. Katia's observations have led to a better understanding of volcanic eruptions. She took measurements, gas readings, and collected mineral samples just feet away from erupting volcanoes and documented how these eruptions affected the ecosystem. She witnessed and documented new volcanoes being formed and the effects of acid rain and dangerous ash clouds. One of her last projects was Understanding Volcanic Hazards and Reducing Volcanic Risks. Katia continued to push the boundaries to get her observations, wearing a special helmet to protect herself from falling rock and taking a raft into a  lake of acid to get proper readings. Her photography allowed her to work with local governments on safety procedures and helping to develop volcano evacuation procedures. In 1969, Katia was awarded the prize of the Vocation Foundation for her first work of volcanology on active sites. Mount Unzen eruption. In June 1991, while filming eruptions at Mount Unzen in Japan, they were caught in a pyroclastic flow, which unexpectedly swept out of the channel that previous smaller flows had been following and onto the ridge they were standing on. They were killed instantly along with 41 other people, including fellow  volcanologist Harry Glicken, several firefighters and journalists also covering the eruptions. The work of the Kraffts was highlighted in a video issue of "National Geographic", which contained a large amount of their film footage and photographs as well as interviews with both. Maurice said in that video that "I am never afraid because I have seen so many eruptions in 23 years that even if I die tomorrow, I don't care". Legacy. A volcanic crater, "M. and K. Krafft Crater", of the volcano Piton de la Fournaise on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, is named  after the couple. The crater is located at . Lava erupted from this crater in March 1998. The Krafft Medal honors the Kraffts' memory and is awarded every 4 years by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) Scientific Assembly to someone who has made significant contributions to volcanology through service to communities affected by volcanic activity. The Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Fund. The Centre for the Study of Active Volcanoes at the University of Hawaii at Hilo has established a fund in memory of the Kraffts (The Maurice and Katia Krafft Memorial Fund ). The donations will be directed to educate people in countries of high volcanic risk about the hazards active volcanoes pose.