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Professeur Alfred Lacroix (1863 - 1948) |
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Professeur Alfred Lacroix (Source: Annales des Mines) Exceptional mineralogist and geologist, member of the French Academy of Sciences, Alfred Lacroix was sent to Martinique in order to determine the causes of the catastrophe of May 8, 1902.
Heading the scientific mission Lacroix-Giraud, he gathered precious accounts from witnesses, pictures and maps of the volcanic phenomomena, during two successives stays in Martinique. He chose the site of the morne des Cadets, in Fonds-Saint-Denis, for the mount Pelée volcano observatory. His study of mount Pelée, published in 1904, (La montagne Pelée et ses éruptions. 662p.) marks the beginning of modern volcanology. Alfred Lacroix studied extensively and identified the nuees ardentes (glowing avalanches).
Consulted from Paris, during the 1929-1932 eruption, Alfred Lacroix advised to abandon completely the communities destroyed in 1902.
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Mt Pelee Pioneers 