Marcian Bleahu

Marcian David (Matty) Bleahu (14 March 1924, Brașov – 30 July 2019, Bucharest) was a Romanian geologist, speleologist, geographer, alpinist, explorer, writer and politician.
He is well known for his scientific contributions to the development of the theories of global tectonics (applied to the study of the geology of the Carpathian Mountains), for his pioneering in speleology and for the development of this science, but also for the popularization of science and of ecology in Romania.

Marcian Bleahu is the author of more than 41 books and 126 scientific papers, of more than 400 articles on different topics.  He has more than 500 public appearances as a speaker, including the radio and the television, he is a pioneer in using the multimedia in conferences, he is the author of the first geological map of Romania. As such, Marcian Bleahu is one of the most important Romanian scientific personalities of the second half of the last century.

His books and his conferences have inspired generations of youth fond of nature, mountains, the exploration of the caves in Romania, and he has been, at the same time, a mentor for many Romanian geologists after the second World War.

Biography 

Marcian David Bleahu was born on March 14, 1924, in Brașov, in the family of a notary, but his maternal ancestry goes up to the prince Constantin Brâncoveanu. He was enlisted during the World War II.

He graduated from school and high-school in Brașov. In 1949, he graduated from the  Faculty of Sciences (Sections of Natural Sciences and Geography) of the University of Bucharest. In 1974 he obtains a PhD with a thesis about the Geology and the Morphology of the Karst and of the Caves, at the University of Cluj.

He begins his teaching activity at the Geology Department of Bucharest University, where he was a teaching assistant, lecturer and associate professor between 1949 and 1961. He was eliminated from the teaching system for political reasons, and he started again his university career after 1989, when, together with prof. Dolfi Drimer, he founded the Ecological University, where he was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (afterwards transformed in Faculty of Ecology).

Between 1949 - 1994, Marcian Bleahu worked as a geologist, a researcher and as a manager (including General Manager) at the Geological Institute of Romania.

He was elected as a senator for the legislatures 1990-1992 and 1996-2000, on the lists of the Romanian Ecologist Movement, and of the Romanian Ecologist Federation. Between 1991 - 1992 he was the Minister of the Environment.

He has received several awards and decorations; in 2008 he was decorated with the Order "Steaua Româniai"  ("The Star of Romania") as Knight, which is the highest Romanian civil order.

At present, he has retired from the public activity, but he continues to write articles and books in several fields, including music (he is known as a sophisticated melomaniac), or ecology.

Professional career 

After graduation, in 1949, Marcian Bleahu joins the Geology Department of the Bucharest University. He teaches the first classes of Structural Geology and of the Geology of the Quaternary. In 1961 he is eliminated from the Department by the communist administration, on political grounds.

On April 4, 1990, together with Dolphi Drimer, Marcian Bleahu founds the Ecological University, the first private university in Romania and the only university with an ecological profile. Dolphi Drimer becomes the rector of this university and Marcian Bleahu is appointed as dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (later on named Faculty of Ecology), where he teaches Dynamic Geology, Physical Geography of Romania, Geology of Romania, Protection of nature and protected areas. He ends his teaching career in 2001.

Between 1949 - 1994, simultaneously with his teaching activity, Marcian Bleahu worked  as a geologist at the Geological Institute, where he implements most of his scientific activities.

Between 1952 - 1985, he does a long series of research in the Carpathian Mountains, mainly in the Apuseni. During all these 33 years of field research, he synthesized and made public the stratigraphy and the structure of the Apuseni Mountains. The papers he published in this field are the first scientific source about the geology of the Maramures, Bihor, Codru-Moma and Metaliferic Mountains -  he dedicated to each of them a monography. These researches had an important impact on synthesis of national interest, such as coal deposits, Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations, but also from the tectonic point of view, in the general works about the structure of the territory, as well as in the integration of these researches in the wider framework of the study of Triassic paleography in Eastern Europe.

Directly, or by coordinating teams of geologists, Marcian Bleahu also produced over 50 maps (pages) component of the Geological Map of Romania, on a scale of 1:200.000, for which he also made the state standards in the field.

A special chapter of this field activity was the study of karstology, meaning the exploration, the mapping and the research of the caves in the Apuseni mountains, almost unknown until then: Peștera de la Căput, Peștera Buciumul Sucit, Peștera Vântului, Peștera Vadu Crișului, Peștera Șura Mare, Peștera din Peretele Dârnini, Peștera Coliboaia, Avenul de sub Pietruța, Peștera Izvorul Tăușoarelor, Peștera-aven ghețarul de sub Zgurăști, Peștera Cetatea Rădesei, Peștera Pojarul Poliței, Peștera Scărișoara, Peștera Huda lui Papară, Vânătările Ponorului, Izbucul de la Cotețul Dobreștilor, Avenul de sub Colții Grindului, Peștera Gaura cu Muscă, Peștera Bolii, Peștera Neagră, Peștera Ghețarul de la Vârtop, Avenul din Piatra Ceții, Peștera Calului, Peștera Bisericuța, Peștera din Dealul Cornului, Peștera Mică de la Vânătare, Peștera Dâlbina, Peștera Corobana lui Gârtău, Peștera V5, Peștera Poarta lui Ionele, Avenul din Șesuri etc.

In 1976 he publishes Caves from Romania "Peșteri din România", which becomes one of the first scientific best-sellers in Romania.

All these researches, as well as the world scientific trends of the '60s in the field of plate tectonics catalyses Marcian Bleahu's research activity and he becomes a pioneer in the field of global tectonics not only in Romania, but also with significant contributions in the international scientific community. The results of his studies were synthesized in the book Global tectonics - Bucharest,  1983, Editura Științifică, (Tectonica globală), in two volumes, with over 1000 pages.

Despite the opposition of the scientific world of that time, which got quickly past any debate over ideas and arrived at the political questioning of the research results (the communist authorities forbade him to leave the country for 6 years, 1978 - 1984), Marcian Bleahu managed to thrust his theories, and he was invited in 1974, 1976 and 1978 to teach at the University in Geneva the first course in Global Tectonics; he also gave conferences in Vienna, Zurich, Freiburg, Basel, Potsdam, etc.

Between 1949 - 1952 he was the manager of the geology service for the Danube - Black Sea Canal.

In 1953, he coordinated the geological research for the project of Bucharest Metro.

He was a member of the inter-ministerial commission of analysis for the Earthquake on March 4th 1977.

Between 1985 - 1994 he was a member of the team that founded and coordinated The National Museum of Geology in Bucharest.

Political career 

While a student, he sympathized with the National Liberal Party, but he was not a member of any political party until 1965, when he joins the Romanian Communist Party, in order to be appointed on a management position in the Geological Institute. If, politically, his activity until 1990 was almost non-existent, from the professional point of view he will be remembered as the founder of the National Museum of Geology, in 1985, where he also worked as a scientific coordinator, until 1994.

After the Revolution in December 1989, Marcian Bleahu founds the Ecologist Movement in Romania, thus putting into practice his professional belief regarding the protection of nature and of environment.

He is elected as a senator in May 1990, in the first free post-communist Parliament and he becomes the Minister of Environment in the Stolojan cabinet. In this position, he elaborated the legislation in the field (again, a pioneer work) and he tried to integrate Romania in the international conventions and programs regarding the environment.

In 1992 he is appointed vice-president of the UN Conference for environment and development in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1996 he is elected again as a senator, on the lists of the Democratic Convention, for the Ecologist Federation of Romania. He was a member of the Commission for Foreign Affairs and of the parliamentary group of the National Liberal Party.

In 2008 he is appointed as President of Honor of the Green Party, successor of the Ecologist Federation of Romania.

Medals and awards 
 The Medal "Scientific Merit", 1966
 The decoration "Order of labour" cl. III, 1971
 The medal of fighter in the Second World War, 1997
 The decoration "Steaua Romaniei" as Knight, 2009
 The medal for merit "Percy Allen" of the European Union of Geology Societies, 2012
 The prize of the Romanian Academy - "Emil Gh. Racoviță", 1965
 The prize of the Romanian Academy - "Grigore  Cobălcescu", 1974
 The prize of the Romanian Academy  - "G.M. Murgoci", 1976
 Citizen of Honour of Gârda and Albac, 2006 and 2010
 Professor Honoris Causa of Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj, 2009

Bibliography 

Geology:
 Global Tectonics (Tectonica globală), Vol. I,  Editura Științifică, 1983
 Global Tectonics (Tectonica globală), Vol. II,  Editura Științifică, 1989
 Geology of Romania (Geologia României), Editura UEB, 1994
 General Geology - External Dynamics (Geologie generală – Dinamica externă), Editura UEB, 2002
 General Geology - Internal Dynamics (Geologia generală -  Dinamica internă), Editura UEB, 2001
 The earth is confessing to us (Pământul se destăinuie), Editura Ion Creangă, 1985
 Formation of Continents and Oceans (Formarea continentelor și a oceanelor), Editura Științifică, 1978
 The Planet called Earth (Planeta numită Pământ, 4 brochures for diapositives), Editura  Animafilm, 1978
 The Crystals of Romania (Cristalele României), in collaboration with I. Miclea, Editura Sport-Turism, 1977

Geography:
 The Beauty of Karstic Regions (Pitorescul regiunilor carstice), Editura SRSC, 1956
 Stone flowers (Flori de piatră), Editura Științifică, 1966
 Karstic Morphology (Morfologia carstică), Editura Științifică, 1974
 Karstic Relief (Relieful carstic), Editura Albatros, 1982 
 Physical Geography of Romania (Geografia fizică a României), Editura UEB, 2001
 Beyond the Landscape (Dincolo de peisaj), Editura Paidea, 2007

Speleology:
 The Man and the Cave (Omul și peștera), Editura Sport-Turism, 1978 
 Topolnita Cave (Peștera Topolnița), in collaboration with C. Lascu, Editura Sport-Turism,1975
 The Catalogue of Caves in Romania (Catalogul peșterilor din România), in collaboration with I. Povară, Editura CNSFS, 1976
 The Conquerors of the Darkness (Cuceritorii întunericului), Editura Sport-Turism, 1976
 Bulba Cave (Peștera Bulba),  in collaboration with  C. Lascu, Editura Sport-Turism, 1985

Ecology:
 Geological Nature Reserves in Romania (Rezervații naturale geologice din România), in collaboration with F. Marinescu and V. Brădescu, Editura  Tehnică, 1976   
 Ecology - Nature - Man (Ecologie-Natură-Om), Editura Metropol, 1998
 Look Back in Anger... Look Ahead in Terror - Valences of Political Ecology (Privește înapoi cu mânie… privește înainte cu spaimă - Valențele ecologiei politice), Editura Economică, 2001
 Noah's Ark in the XXIst Century (Arca lui Noe în Secolul XXI), Editura  Națională, 2004
 Protected Natural Areas in Bucovina (Arii naturale protejate din Bucovina), in collaboration with A. and T. Done, Editura Terra Design, 2007
 Roșia Montană - the prediction of a national tragedy (Roșia Montană – prefigurarea unei tragedii naționale), print, 2013

Tourism and Alpinism:
 Apuseni Mountains (Munții Apuseni), in collaboration with S. Bordea and Al. Borza, Editura ONT, 1963 
 Bihor-Vlădeasa Mountains - tourism guide (Munții Bihor-Vlădeasa – ghid turistic), in collaboration with S. Bordea, Editura Sport-Turism, 1967 
 Himalaya - Conquering the Giants of the World (Himalaya – cucerirea giganților lumii), in collaboration with M. Bogdan and Gh. Epuran, Editura Științifică, 1966
 Codru-Moma Mountains (Munții Codru-Moma), Editura CNFS, 1978
 Bujor-Vlădeasa Mountains - Monography (Munții Bujor-Vlădeasa – monografie), in collaboration with S. Bordea, Editura Sport-Turism,1981 
Miscellaneous:
 The Confession of An Undefeated (Spovedania unui neînvins), Editura  Paidea, 2006 
 Notes without Stave (Note fără portativ), Editura Paidea, 2011
 The Life and Work of G.M. Murgoci (Viața și opera lui G.M.Murgoci), in collaboration with B. Iancovici (in "G.M.Murgoci – Opere ales" ), published by M. Bleahu and B. Iancovici, Editura Academiei, 1957
 A Course of German Language - texts for geology and geography (Curs de limba germană- texte de geologie și geografie), in collaboration with J. Livescu and A. Savin, 1963
 A Course of German Language - texts for biology (Curs de limba germană – texte de biologie), in collaboration with J. Livescu and A. Savin, 1968
 Fundamental Problems of the Contemporary World (in Geography of the Environment -, Geografia mediului înconjurător"), textbook for the XIth grade, Editura Didactică și Pedagogică, 2002  
Co-author in reference works:
 Evolution of the lito-genetic processes (Evoluția proceselor litogenetice), in The Geological Evolution of the Metaliferic Mountains (Evoluția  geologică a Munților Metaliferi"), Editura Academiei, (in collaboration with M. Lupu), 1969
 The Structural Position of the Apuseni Mountains in the alpino-carpathian-dinaric system (Poziția structurală a Munților Apuseni în cadrul sistemului alpino-carpato-dinaric), in The Apuseni Mountains ("Munții Apuseni"), Editura  Academiei, 1976
 Romanian Carpathians – The Apuseni Mountains  (in Tectonics of the Carpathian-Balkan Regions), Editura  Geolog. Inst. Dionysz Stur, Bratislava,
 The Caves in Bihor Mountains (Peșterile din Munții Bihor - bazinele Padiș-Cetățile Ponorului, Vălea  Galbena, Vălea Gârda și din Bazinul văii Topolnița) in Caves from Romania (Peșteri din România), Editura Științifică,1976
 Caves from Oltenia explored from 1959 to 1962 (Grottes  d'Oltenie explores de 1959 a 1962 ), in collaboration with A. and V. Decou, in ,,Recherche sur les grottes du Banat et d'Oltenie 1959-1962", Editura CNRS, Paris
 Karst of Romania (in the volume published by M. Herak and T. V. Stringfield ,,Karst, Important karst of the northern hemisphere" ), Editura  Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1972
 Palaeokarst of Romania  (in the volume published by P. Bosak and D. C. Ford ,,Paleokarst"), Editura Academia, Praga, 1989

References

External links 
 Interview with prof. Marcian Bleahu - filmed in dec 2010 (in Romanian)
 Mr. Profesor Marcian David Bleahu - Biography on e-calauza.ro site (in Romanian)
 Decreee no. 428/2009 to offer  The National Order "Steaua României" (in Romanian)
 Marcian Bleahu, Profesor Honoris Causa - Universitatea Babes-Bloyai, Cluj-Napoca (in Romanian)
 Members of Hubner's Who's Who - Marcian Bleahu

Category:1924 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:People from Brașov
Category:University of Bucharest alumni
Category:University of Bucharest faculty
Category:Romanian geologists
Category:Romanian geographers
Category:Romanian curators
Category:Members of the Senate of Romania
Category:Romanian Ministers of the Environment
Category:Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania