Re: Tom Simkin

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Besides his other accomplishments highlighted below, Tom was the person who helped forge the link between Volcano Listserv and the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Network more than 20 years ago, which allowed both communication vehicles to grow synergistically. 

This is indeed a sad loss for volcanology. We should all be grateful for Tom's contributions, which made our field more quantitative, more global, and more useful. 

Jon Fink
Arizona State University



Jonathan Fink

Foundation Professor
School of Sustainability
School of Earth and Space Exploration

Arizona State University
Box 875402
Tempe, AZ 85287-5402

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----- Original Message -----
From: VOLCANO <VOLCANO@xxxxxxx>
To: VOLCANO@xxxxxxx <VOLCANO@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu Jun 11 12:53:26 2009
Subject: Tom Simkin

With deep regret, we inform you that Tom Simkin, founder and director
for many years of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program, passed
away on June 10, 2009, at the age of 75.

Tom Simkin's distinguished career in volcanology at the Smithsonian
spanned more than four decades. Tom was a pioneer in recognizing the
value of investigating volcanism on a global scale, and was the
founder and director of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program
(GVP) until 1995. The twin pillars of the GVP lay in both documenting
current volcanic activity and unrest and in developing a database of
volcanoes and their eruptions during the past 10,000 years. His
tireless devotion to detail and scientific accuracy has led to the
Smithsonian becoming the globally recognized resource for data and
context of the world's volcanoes and their eruptions. He was the first
to note logarithmic relationship between eruption magnitude and
frequency and the inverse correlation between eruption magnitude and
intervals between eruptions, making the important point that the
long-dormant volcanoes that escape the attention of those living in
their shadow can produce some of the most violent eruptions.

GVP data have widespread applications for research and hazards
mitigation and include investigations into the seasonality of volcanic
eruptions, links between volcanic eruptions and climate, and
connections between global-scale earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
It has been a resource for national and international organizations
dealing with volcanic hazards, such as the United Nations, the USGS,
NOAA, NASA, and the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, and
has contributed to FAA response to volcanoes and aviation safety. Tom
authored two editions of the globally utilized compilation Volcanoes
of the World and was currently collaborating on a 3rd edition. Tom was
also well known for his extensive field studies on Fernandina and
other Galápagos Islands volcanoes and served on the Charles Darwin
Foundation promoting science and conservation in this unique natural
laboratory.

Tom's contributions to volcanology continued in his emeritus status,
following his retirement in 2003. In 2006 he published the 3rd edition
of the This Dynamic Planet map in collaboration with scientists from
the USGS and the Naval Research Lab. The first two editions of this
map plotting volcanoes, earthquakes, meteorite impact sites, and
tectonic plate boundaries became the most-sold map of the USGS and
have been widely used in K-12 through graduate school education and
science. In 2004 Tom was awarded the prestigious Krafft Medal by the
International Association of Volcanology, honoring those who have
shown altruism and dedication to the humanitarian and applied sides of
volcanology and have made selfless contributions to the volcanological
community.

Tom leaves behind his wife, Sharon, daughter Shona, and son Adam.
Additional information will be provided at
http://www.volcano.si.edu/info/simkin/ when available.

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