Nationality Iceland Name Haraldur Sigurdsson | Education Durham University Fields Geochemistry | |
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Institutions University of Rhode Island Alma mater Queen's University, Belfast;
University of Durham Books Melting the Earth: The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions | ||
Leif Erikson Awards 2017 - Haraldur Sigurðsson
Haraldur Sigurðsson (born May 31, 1939) is an Icelandic volcanologist and geochemist. Sigurðsson studied geology and geochemistry in the United Kingdom, where he obtained a bachelor's degree from Queen's University, Belfast, followed by a Ph.D. degree from the University of Durham in 1970. He worked on monitoring and research of the volcanoes of the Caribbean until 1974, when he was appointed professor at the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island. He is best known for his work on the reconstruction of major volcanic eruptions of the past, including the eruption of Vesuvius in Italy in AD 79 and the consequent destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 1991 he discovered tektite glass spherules at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–T boundary) in Haiti, providing proof for a meteorite impact at the time of the extinction of the dinosaurs. In 2004 he discovered the lost town of Tambora in Indonesia, which was buried by the colossal 1815 explosive eruption of Tambora volcano. In 1999, Haraldur Sigurdsson published a scholarly account of the history of volcanology. He was also editor in chief of the Encyclopedia of Volcanoes, also published in 1999. He was awarded the Coke Medal of the Geological Society of London in 2004.
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Active blogs
Haraldur Sigurdsson has in recent years been active in blogging in Icelandic on various issues related to his science, geology and geochemistry. There he has also been active in criticizing USA government, world capitalism and activities of Chinese companies in the Arctic. He openly supports the left movement in USA. Sigurdsson states that he will work against Hillary Clinton if she would run for the US Presidency. According to him she has “been too long in politics and has become completely corrupted."
In the summer 2014, Sigurdsson wrote very controversial article of a Solarsilicon Project being developed by the US Company Silicor Materials Inc. in Iceland and its pollution. However, he has not been able to support that with any scientific evidence. Most writings and official reports in Iceland shows very different views.