Two major earthquakes occurred in Turkey in a row. More than 40,000 people died. There is also an earthquake expectation for Istanbul. And the person who scares Istanbul the most with his prophecies is a geoscientist.
Xavier Le Pichon was born on June 18, 1937, in Vietnam. French geologist and geophysicist.
Xavier Le Pichon is best known for the comprehensive model of plate tectonics he developed in 1968.
Xavier Le Pichon (born 18 June 1937 in Qui Nhơn, French protectorate of Annam (after South Vietnam and today Vietnam) is a French geophysicist. Among many other contributions, he is known for his comprehensive model of plate tectonics (1968), helping create the field of plate tectonics.
In 1968, Morgan combined McKenzie and Parker's kinematic ideas with large datasets collected by Lamont, and particularly relevant magnetic profiles, showing that Plate Tectonics could accurately describe the evolution of large ocean basins.
He is a professor at the Collège de France and held the Chair in Geodynamics from 1986 to 2008.
In 2009 he was awarded the title of professor emeritus by the Collège de France. In 2018, Istanbul Technical University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
PRIVATE LIFE
He lived his life as a devout Catholic.
He saw caring for the weaknesses of others as a fundamental quality that allowed humanity to evolve.
Xavier Le Pichon has five children and eleven grandchildren.
What magnitude earthquake is expected in Istanbul, French geologist Xavier Le Pichon?
"I think there will be a single earthquake above 7.6 in Marmara. I know that all my colleagues do not think so. They think that there will be 2 or 3 earthquakes. We will see who history will prove right. I look at how the plates in the region develop. The whole movement of the fault in Marmara, I see you do it in a single moment of length."
XAVIER LE PICHON AWARDS
Balzan Prize
Alfred Wegener Medal
Japan Award
Wollaston Medal
Maurice Ewing Medal