Harry Glicken

Harry Glicken was an American volcanologist. He researched Mount St. Helens in the United States before and after its 1980 eruption. In 1991, while conducting avalanche research on Mount Unzen in Japan, Glicken and fellow volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft were killed by a pyroclastic flow.

About Harry Glicken in brief

Harry Glicken was an American volcanologist. He researched Mount St. Helens in the United States before and after its 1980 eruption, and was very distraught about the death of fellow volcanologist David A. Johnston. In 1991, while conducting avalanche research on Mount Unzen in Japan, Glicken and fellow volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft were killed by a pyroclastic flow. His remains were found four days later, and were cremated in accordance with his parents’ request. He and Johnston remain the only American volcanologists known to have died in volcanic eruptions. Glicken never received a permanent post at the US Geological Survey because employees found him eccentric. He wrote several major publications on the topic, including his doctoral dissertation based on his research at St. St. Helens titled “Rockslide-debris Avalanche of May 18, 1980, Mount St Helens Volcano, Washington” His report has been acknowledged by many other publications on debris avalanches. He was praised by associates for his love of volcanoes and commitment to his field. He is buried in a plot of land he inherited from his father, Milton and Ida Glicken, which is now owned by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

He also leaves behind a wife and two children, who he met at Stanford University in 1980. He had a long-term interest in working for the U.S. Geological Survey, but his offer to help with their research at the mountain was declined by senior scientists. Instead, he worked with newly appointed USGS employee Barry Voight’s guidance, absorbed himself in his work to earn a job at the Survey and relieve himself of his anguish over Johnston’s death. In mid-1980, after the May eruption, USGS Survey scientists decided to establish the David A Johnston Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, intending to closely monitor volcanoes in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. After a magnitude 5. 1 earthquake centered directly below the north slope triggered that part of the volcano to slide at 8: 32 a. m., Mount St St Helens erupted. Glicken returned to St. St Helens to analyze the remains of the mountain’s lateral blast. Through meticulous analysis, the team traced the origins and the movement of the mass of each piece of debris, ranging from blocks of 100 yards in width to mere 100 yards.

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