{{refimprove|date=November 2025}} {{Short description|Israeli paleomagnetic researcher}} {{Infobox scientist | native_name_lang = he | image = חגי רון במדבר המערבי.jpg | caption = Ron in 2005 at the Western Desert | image_size = 200px | name = | native_name = חגי רון | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date |1944|9|06|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Beith Ha'Arava, Mandatory Palestine | death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|9|10|1944|9|2|mf=y}} | death_place = Kabri, Israel, | citizenship = Israeli | field = {{hlist| Geology | geophysics }} | alma_mater = {{hlist| The Hebrew University of Jerusalem | }} | known_for = {{hlist| the founding father of paleomagnetic research in Israel | | | }} | work_institution = Geophysical Institute of Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Stanford University | footnotes = }}
'''Hagai Ron''' ({{Langx|he|חגי רון}}; September 6, 1944 – September 10, 2012) was a professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is considered as the founding father of paleomagnetic research in Israel and a pioneer in the field of the relationship between paleomagnetism and block rotation.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Shaar |first=Ron |date=13 November 2015 |title=Remembering Hagai (1944–2012) |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10437-015-9207-6 |journal=African Archaeological Review |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=591–594 |doi=10.1007/s10437-015-9207-6 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Paleomagnetism in the Levant and Near East: Honoring Late Prof. Hagai Ron (1944 - 2012) |url=https://earth.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/earth/files/paleomagnetism_in_the_levant_and_near_east_-program.pdf |website=The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, October 15, 2017}}</ref>
== Biography == Ron was born in Kibbutz Beit Ha'Arava in the north of the Dead Sea. In May 1948, when he was three and a half years old, and due to the pressure of the Jordanian army, all the members of the kibbutz and their children were evacuated to Kibbutz Shfayim. After a short time, few of the evacuees, including his parents, founded Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Gallilee. Ron grew up and studied in the kibbutz that was his home throughout his life.
He enlisted in the paratrooper brigade in 1962. After his military service, in 1965 he went for a year of national service in Haifa, in the Machanot Ha'Olim Youth movement, where he met Hadva, his wife. During the Six Day War, he participated with his reserve unit in the battle of Umm-Katef in Sinai Peninsula. During the Yom Kippur War he fought with his unit in the Suez Canal Sector.
Ron studied for all his degrees at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He studied for a bachelor's degree between 1969 and 1972, and for his Ms.c degree between 1976 and 1978. His studies for the Ph.D degree (under the guidance of professors Rafi Freund, Amos Nur, and Zvi Garfunkel) between 1979 and 1984. Part of his studies for the Ph.D., in 1980 and 1984, he did at Stanford University, where he was also a postdoctoral fellow in 1985–1986.
At the same time as his undergraduate and graduate studies, he served twice as the secretary of Kibbutz Kabri.
At the height of his academic work, and after having trained many students, some of whom were senior academic staff members themselves, Ron fell ill with a serious illness from which he died a short time later. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of Kibbutz Kabri.
== Research and career == In his doctoral thesis, which was published in the mid-1980s, Ron entered the then young field of paleomagnetism research. In this work, he developed innovative research methods, including magnetic measurements of sedimentary rocks, that were used to reconstruct tectonic of blocks rotations between the Galillee faults. These methods were a global breakthrough in the interrelationship between geological fieldwork and geophysics, and are an important landmark in paleomagnetic research in general, even by today's standards.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Prof. Hagai Ron (1944–2012) |url=https://scholars.huji.ac.il/ronshaar/prof-hagai-ron-1944%E2%80%932012 |website=Scholars.huji.ac.il}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Tauxe |first=Lisa |date=20 November 2012 |title=Hagai Ron (1944–2012) |url=https://scholars.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/ronshaar/files/eost18905.pdf |journal=Eos |volume=93 |issue=47 |pages=475 |doi=10.1029/2012EO470006 |bibcode=2012EOSTr..93..475T }}</ref> He went on for a post-doctorate at Stanford University, California, and returned to Israel with the means to establish the first paleomagnetic laboratory in Israel, which was established at the Geophysical Institute of Israel - one of the first cryogenic magnetometers in the world was placed in this laboratory, which constituted the latest technology of paleomagnetic research.<ref name=":1" /> In 2001, Ron moved with the laboratory to the Earth Sciences Institute at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He made significant contributions to the timing of hominid dispersal out of Africa, having nailed down the date of the oldest discoveries in Israel.<ref name=":2" /> For that time, "he championed the use of Israeli and Jordanian archeological materials, most notably metallurgical slag deposits, for the study of paleointensity variations in the southern Levant".<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Prof. Hagai Ron |url=https://en.earth.huji.ac.il/people/hagai-ron?ref_tid=1507 |website=The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem}}</ref>
=== Main studies === His main studies dealt with:
*Brittle deformation and breakage - for the first time in the world<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=H. |last2=Eyal |first2=Y. |date=January 1985 |title=Intraplate Deformation by Block Rotation and Mesostructures Along the Dead Sea Transform, Northern Israel |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248816021 |journal=Tectonics |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=85–105 |doi=10.1029/TC004i001p00085 |bibcode=1985Tecto...4...85R }}</ref> proof of rotation of limited blocks in replicas around a vertical axis using paleomagnetic measurements (Freund model).<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Ron | first1=Hagai | title=Deformation along the Yammuneh, the restraining bend of the Dead Sea Transform: Paleomagnetic data and kinematic implications | journal=Tectonics | date=1987 | volume=6 | issue=5 | pages=653–666 | doi=10.1029/TC006i005p00653 | bibcode=1987Tecto...6..653R }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Ron | first1=Hagai | last2=Aydin | first2=Atilla | last3=Nur | first3=Amos | title=Strike-slip faulting and block rotation in the Lake Mead fault system | journal=Geology | date=1986 | volume=14 | issue=12 | page=1020 | doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14<1020:SFABRI>2.0.CO;2 | bibcode=1986Geo....14.1020R }}</ref> The formation of new faults according to the stress field that has not undergone change<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Granot |first1=R. |last2=Tauxe |first2=L. |last3=Gee |first3=J. |last4=Ron |first4=H. |date=2007 |title=A View into the Cretaceous Geomagnetic Field from Analysis of Gabbros and Submarine Glasses. |url=https://cris.bgu.ac.il/en/publications/a-view-into-the-cretaceous-geomagnetic-field-from-analysis-of-gab-3 |journal=Earth and Planetary Letters |volume=256 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2006.12.028 |bibcode=2007E&PSL.256....1G |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and deformation of the oceanic crust.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Granot |first1=R. |last2=Abelson |first2=M. |last3=Ron |first3=H. |last4=Agnon |first4=A. |date=2006 |title=The Oceanic Crust in 3D: Paleomagnetic Reconstruction in the Troodos Ophiolite Gabbro |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222666710 |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=251 |issue=3–4 |pages=280–292 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2006.09.019 |bibcode=2006E&PSL.251..280G }}</ref> *Magnetism in present-day lake sediments, and paleomagnetism of dried lakes, as "recordings" of the Earth's magnetic field (Lake Lisan, the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marco |first1=Shmuel |last2=Stein |first2=Mordechai |last3=Agnon |first3=Amotz |last4=Ron |first4=Hagai |date=March 10, 1996 |title=Long Term Earthquake Clastering: A 50,000 Years Paleoseismic Record in the Dead Sea Graben |url=https://www.tau.ac.il/~shmulikm/Publications/Marco&alJGR1996.pdf |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=101 |issue=B3 |pages=6179–6191 |doi=10.1029/95JB01587 |bibcode=1996JGR...101.6179M }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=H. |last2=Nowaczyk |first2=N. R. |last3=Frank |first3=U. |last4=Schwab |first4=M. J. |last5=Naumann |first5=R. |last6=Striewski |first6=B. |last7=Agnon |first7=A. |date=July 2007 |title=Greigite Detected as Dominating Remanence Carrier in Late Pleistocene Sediments, Lisan formation, from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel |journal=Geophysical Journal International |volume=170 |issue=1 |pages=117–131 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2007.03425.x |doi-access=free |bibcode=2007GeoJI.170..117R }}</ref> *Magnetostratigraphy - creating a stratigraphic column based on the column of rocks, the variation of magnetism in rocks and seismotectonics, along the Dead Sea transform.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |date=2006 |title=Magnetic Properties of Lake Lisan and Holocene Dead Sea Sediments and the Fidelity of Chemical and Detrital Remanent Magnetization |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233807250 |journal=Geological Society of America Special Papers |volume=401 |issue= |pages=171–182 }}</ref> *The development of internal structures of the Dead Sea transform based on paleomagnetic studies carried out mainly on volcanic rocks from the late Cenozoic and Pleistocene periods and on sedimentary rocks combined with them, including determination of isotopic ages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Salamon |first1=A. |last2=Hofstetter |first2=A. |last3=Garfunkel |first3=Z. |last4=Ron |first4=H. |date=October 1996 |title=Seismicity of the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Perspective from the Sinai Subplate |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0040195196000303 |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=263 |issue=1–4 |pages=293–305 |doi=10.1016/S0040-1951(96)00030-3 |bibcode=1996Tectp.263..293S |url-access=subscription }}</ref> *The development of magnetism in rocks due to metamorphosis processes.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |last2=Kolodny |first2=Yehoshua |date=May 1992 |title=Paleomagnetic and Rock Magnetic Study of Combustion Metamorphic Rocks in Israel |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248793992 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |volume=97 |issue=B5 |pages=6927–6939 |doi=10.1029/91JB03072 |bibcode=1992JGR....97.6927R }}</ref> *A paleomagnetic and rock magnetism study of Precambrian bedrock from Timna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marco |first1=Shmuel |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |last3=Matthews |first3=Alan |last4=Beyth |first4=Michael |last5=Navon |first5=Oded |title=Chemical Remanent Magnetism Related to the Dead Sea Rift: Evidence From Precambrian Igneous Rocks of Mount Timna, Southern Israel |url=https://www.tau.ac.il/~shmulikm/Publications/Timna-paleomag-JGR-1993.pdf |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=1993 |volume=98 |issue=B9 |pages=16,001–16,012 |doi=10.1029/93JB01426 |bibcode=1993JGR....9816001M }}</ref> *Archaeomagnetism - determining the absolute strength of the Earth's magnetic field during the last seven thousand years.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Shaar |first1=Ron |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |last3=Tauxe |first3=Lisa |last4=Kessel |first4=Ronit |last5=Agnon |first5=Amotz |last6=Ben-Yosef |first6=Erez |last7=Feinberg |first7=Joshua M. |date=February 2010 |title=Testing the Accuracy of Absolute Intensity Estimates of Ancient Geomagnetic Field Using Copper Slag Material |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222149276 |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=290 |issue=1 |pages=201–213 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2009.12.022 |bibcode=2010E&PSL.290..201S }}</ref> *Using paleomagnetism methods to reconstruct past tectonic activity in a wide range of geological settings including: Cyprus,<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Granot |first1=Roi |last2=Abelson |first2=Meir |last3=Ron |first3=Hagai |last4=Lusk |first4=Matthew W. |last5=Agnon |first5=Amotz |date=August 2011 |title=Direct Evidence for Dynamic Magma supply Fossilized in the Lower Oceanic Crust of the Troodos Ophiolite |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2011GL048220 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=38 |issue=L16311 |pages=1–6|doi=10.1029/2011GL048220 |bibcode=2011GeoRL..3816311G }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ebert |first1=Y. |last2=Kessel |first2=R. |last3=Shaar |first3=R. |last4=Agnon |first4=A. |last5=Ron |first5=H. |date=December 2010 |title=Petrology and Rock Magnetism of the Gabbro of Troodos Ophiolite |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031920110001883 |journal=Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors |volume=183 |issue=3–4 |pages=413–420 |doi=10.1016/j.pepi.2010.09.006 |bibcode=2010PEPI..183..413E |url-access=subscription }}</ref> North America,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |last2=Aydin |first2=Atilla |last3=Nur |first3=Amos |date=December 1986 |title=Strike-Slip Faulting and Block Rotation in the Lake Mead Fault System |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/14/12/1020/203944/Strike-slip-faulting-and-block-rotation-in-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Geology |volume=14 |issue=12 |pages=1020–1023 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14<1020:SFABRI>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=1986Geo....14.1020R |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |last2=Nur |first2=Amos |last3=Aydin |first3=Atilla |date=August 1993 |title=Rotation of Stress and Blocks in the Lake Mead, Nevada, Fault System |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/93GL01656 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=20 |issue=16 |pages=1706–1703 |doi=10.1029/93GL01656 |bibcode=1993GeoRL..20.1703R |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eyal |first1=Yehuda |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |date=June 1995 |title=Late Cenozoic Crustal Deformation of the North-Central Basin and Range Province, Western US |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004019519400264A |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=246 |issue=4 |pages=211–224 |doi=10.1016/0040-1951(94)00264-A |bibcode=1995Tectp.246..211E |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |last2=Nur |first2=Amos |date=November 1996 |title=Vertical Axis Rotations in the Mojave: Evidence from the Independence Dike Swarm |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/24/11/973/187991/Vertical-axis-rotations-in-the-Mojave-Evidence |journal=Geology |volume=24 |issue=11 |pages=976–973 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0973:VARITM>2.3.CO;2 |bibcode=1996Geo....24..973R |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and Israel.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=H. |last2=Freund |first2=R. |last3=Garfunkel |first3=Z. |last4=Nur |first4=A. |date=July 1984 |title=Block Rotation by Strike-Slip Faulting: Structural and Paleomagnetic Evidence |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/JB089iB07p06256 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=89 |issue=B7 |pages=6256–6270 |doi=10.1029/JB089iB07p06256 |bibcode=1984JGR....89.6256R |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=H. |last2=Nur |first2=A. |last3=Eyal |first3=Y. |date=December 1990 |title=Multiple Strike-Slip Fault Sets: A Case Study from the Dead Sea Transform |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/TC009i006p01421 |journal=Tectonics |volume=9 |issue=6 |pages=1421–1431 |doi=10.1029/TC009i006p01421 |bibcode=1990Tecto...9.1421R |via=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |date=October 1987 |title=Deformation Along the Yammuneh, The Restraining Bend of the Dead Sea Transform: Paleomagnetic Data and Kinematic Implications |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/TC006i005p00653 |journal=Tectonics |volume=6 |issue=5 |pages=653–666 |doi=10.1029/TC006i005p00653 |bibcode=1987Tecto...6..653R |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heimann |first1=Ariel |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |date=September 1987 |title=Young Faults in the Hula Pull-Apart Basin, Central Dead Sea Transform |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004019518790179X |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=141 |issue=1–3 |pages=117–124 |doi=10.1016/0040-1951(87)90179-X |bibcode=1987Tectp.141..117H |via=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Heimann |first1=Ariel |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |date=April 1993 |title=Geometric Changes of Plate Boundaries Along Part of the Northern Dead Sea Transform: Geochronologic and Paleomagnetic Evidence |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/92tc01789 |journal=Tectonics |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=477–491 |doi=10.1029/92tc01789 |bibcode=1993Tecto..12..477H |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weinberger |first1=Ram |last2=Agnon |first2=Amotz |last3=Ron |first3=Hagai |last4=Garfunkel |first4=Zvi |date=June 1995 |title=Rotation About an Inclined Axis: Three Dimensional Matrices for Reconstructing Paleomagnetic and Structural Data |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/019181419400108C |journal=Journal of Structural Geology |volume=17 |issue=6 |pages=777–782 |doi=10.1016/0191-8141(94)00108-C |bibcode=1995JSG....17..777W |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weinberger |first1=Ram |last2=Agnon |first2=Amotz |last3=Ron |first3=Hagai |date=March 1997 |title=Paleomagnetic Reconstruction of a Diapir Emplacement: A Case Study from Sedom Diapir, the Dead Sea Rift |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/96JB02287 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=102 |issue=B3 |pages=5173–5192 |doi=10.1029/96JB02287 |bibcode=1997JGR...102.5173W |url-access=subscription }}</ref> *Incorporating paleomagnetism and rock magnetism in interrelated fields of research like ancient and recent earthquakes, by combining archaeological and geological observations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nur |first1=Amos |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |last3=Beroza |first3=Gregory C. |date=July 1993 |title=The Nature of the Landers-Mojave Earthquake Line |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.261.5118.201 |journal=Science |volume=261 |issue=5118 |pages=201–203 |doi=10.1126/science.261.5118.201 |pmid=17829278 |bibcode=1993Sci...261..201N |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marco |first1=Shmuel |last2=Stein |first2=Mordechai |last3=Agnon |first3=Amotz |last4=Ron |first4=Hagai |date=March 1996 |title=Long-term Earthquake Clustering: A 50,000-Year Paleoseismic Record in the Dead Sea Graben |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/215755480 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |volume=101 |issue=3 |pages=6179–6191 |doi=10.1029/95JB01587 |bibcode=1996JGR...101.6179M }}</ref><ref> {{cite book |last1=Nur |first1=A. |last2=Ron |first2=H. |chapter=And the walls Came Tumbling Down: Earthquake History in the Holy Land |editor=Stiros, S. |editor2=Jones, R. |title=Archaeoseismology |publisher=British School at Athens |series=Fitch Laboratory Occasional Paper |volume=7 |year=1996 |pages=75–85}}</ref> *Dating rock sections in prehistoric sites, which include tools, using the magnetism in the rock, and cosmogenic isotopes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ron |first1=Hagai |last2=Levi |first2=Shaul |date=October 2001 |title=When did Hominids Firest Leave Africa? New High-Resolution Magnetostratigraphy from the Erk-El-Ahmar Formation, Israel |url=https://hergilsey.is/arason/rit/2001/ron_levi_2001_geol.pdf |journal=Geology |volume=29 |issue=10 |pages=633–639 |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(2001)029<0887:WDHFLA>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode=2001Geo....29..887R }}</ref> In 2015, the African Archaeological Review dedicated a special issue to Ron's memory. This issue dealt with the study of the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. It was Ron's initial paleomagnetic findings from Excavation 1 at this cave that gave the first inkling of the great antiquity of the lowermost layers in that site.<ref>Ron, H., Beaumont, P., Chazan, M., Horwitz, L.K., Porat, N., & Yates, R. (2005). Evidence for early Acheulian cave occupation revealed by the magnetostratigraphy of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape. ''SASQUA XVI Biennial Conference'', Bloemfontein, Abstracts, 49–50.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chazan |first1=Michael |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |last3=Matmon |first3=Ari |last4=Porat |first4=Naomi |last5=Goldberg |first5=Paul |last6=Yates |first6=Royden |last7=Avery |first7=Margaret |last8=Sumner |first8=Alexandra |last9=Horwitz |first9=Liora Kolska |date=July 2008 |title=Radiometric Dating of the Earlier Stone Age Sequence in Excavation I at Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa: Preliminary Results |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248408000274 |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.01.004 |pmid=18501953 |bibcode=2008JHumE..55....1C |url-access=subscription }}</ref> These results extended the cave sequence back about one million years earlier than previously thought.<ref name=":1" /> Attached to this issue<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Horwitz |first1=Liora Kolska |last2=Chazan |first2=Michael|date=December 2015 |title=Special Issue: Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Perspectives on Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa |url=https://link.springer.com/journal/10437/volumes-and-issues/32-4 |journal=African Archaeological Review |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=591–876 }}</ref> is a list of 35 articles written by Ron, relevant to the field.<ref name=":1" />
=== Study of historical and prehistoric earthquakes === At the same time as his main work in the field of paleomagnetism, Ron was interested in everything related to historical and prehistoric earthquakes, and supported through the training he gave in the classroom and in the field to archaeologists and historians who were willing to commit themselves to the effort of reconstructing these earthquakes. He followed excavations at archaeological sites that were known to have been affected by earthquakes in the past (for example Beit Shean, Hippos, Jericho and more). He organized a tour of advanced research students from the Department of Geophysics at Stanford University, led by Prof. Amos Nur, to archaeological sites in Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan, where evidence of earthquakes that damaged them were found,<ref>Amos Nur and Dawn Burgess (April 13, 2008). ''[https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691016023/apocalypse?srsltid=AfmBOooppLyJFzC61mrD19r2BCeyaKM10GL0ReZ3-UAgns3_rz8TRxs6 Apocalypse: Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of God]''. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-691-23698-8}}</ref> and published with him several articles and abstracts of lectures for conferences in the field.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nur, A. |last2=Ron, H. |date=1996 |title=Armageddon's earthquakes |url=https://eurekamag.com/research/091/207/091207189.php?srsltid=AfmBOorxhl3JLSj0LiQP7cJQ0QbkNcDBOqy4PUrDLMDW4Bva-1JoZOZd |journal=Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union |volume=77 |issue=46 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nur |first1=Amos |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |date=1997 |title=Armageddon's earthquakes |url=https://eurekamag.com/research/091/207/091207191.php |journal=International Geology Review |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=532–541 |doi=10.1080/00206819709465287 |bibcode=1997IGRv...39..532N |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nur, A. |last2=Ron, H. |date=2000 |title=Armageddon's Earthquakes |url=https://eurekamag.com/research/091/207/091207192.php |journal=International Book Series |volume=3 |pages=44–53 }}</ref> Ron, together with Prof. Amos Nur, produced the award-winning documentary video: "''The Walls Came Tumbling Down: "Earthquakes in the Holy Land"''.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Nur |first1=Amos |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |date=1997 |title=Earthquake! Inspiration for Armageddon |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/earthquake/ |website=Biblical Archaeology Society/library, July/August 1997}}</ref> In addition, he brought together with Prof. Nur to write a doctoral thesis that was reconstructed for the first time in Israel in a comprehensive way, a historical earthquake (1927).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Avni |first=R. |date=February 1999 |title=The 1927 Jericho Earthquake - Comprehensive Macroseismic Analysis Based on Contemporary Sources (in Hebrew, Summary in English) |url=https://primo.bgu.ac.il/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990014101560204361&context=L&vid=972BGU_INST:972BGU&lang=he&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,%D7%A8%D7%A2%D7%99%D7%93%D7%AA%20%D7%94%D7%90%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%94%20%D7%A9%D7%9C%20%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%AA%201927&mode=basic |website=Ben-Gurion University of the Negev}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Avni |first1=R. |last2=Bowman |first2=D. |last3=Shapira |first3=A. |last4=Nur |first4=A. |date=October 2002 |title=Erroneous Interpretation of Historical Documents Related to the Epicenter of the 1927 Jericho Earthquake in the Holy Land |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226058395 |journal=Journal of Seismology |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=469–476 |doi=10.1023/A:1021191824396 |bibcode=2002JSeis...6..469A }}</ref>
=== Completion of his studies === Towards the end of his life, Ron initiated two new projects that did not come to fruition in his lifetime due to his illness: As part of the deep drilling in the Dead Sea, Ron planned to conduct paleomagnetic research on sediments from the last 200 thousand years, as a direct continuation of similar projects he led during the 1990s and 2000s.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Marco |first1=Shmuel |last2=Ron |first2=Hagai |last3=McWilliams |first3=Michael O. |last4=Stein |first4=Mordechai |date=Sep 1998 |title=High-Resolution Record of Geomagnetic Secular Variation from Late Pleistocene Lake Lisan Sediments (Paleo Dead Sea) |url=https://cris.tau.ac.il/en/publications/high-resolution-record-of-geomagnetic-secular-variation-from-late |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=161 |issue=1–4 |pages=145–160 |doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(98)00146-0 |bibcode=1998E&PSL.161..145M }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> In addition, he planned a study on lava flows in the Golan Heights as a means of better understanding the behavior of the geomagnetic field. Ron's students and colleagues completed these studies after his death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Behar |first1=Nicole |last2=Shaar |first2=Ron |last3=Tauxe |first3=Lisa |last4=Asefaw |first4=Hanna |last5=Ebert |first5=Yael |last6=Heimann |first6=Ariel |last7=Koppers |first7=Anthony A. P. |last8=Ron |first8=Hagai |date=2019 |title=Paleomagnetism and Paleosecular Variations From the Plio-Pleistocene Golan Heights Volcanic Plateau, Israel |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2019GC008479 |journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |volume=20 |issue=9 |pages=4319–4335 |doi=10.1029/2019GC008479 |bibcode=2019GGG....20.4319B }}</ref> Some of Ron's last research was dedicated to a large-scale archaeomagnetic campaign aiming at reconstructing variations in the intensity of the geomagnetic field over the past several millennia from pottery and slag materials.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ben-Yosef |first1=E. |last2=Ron |first2=H. |last3=Tauxe |first3=L. |last4=Agnon |first4=A. |last5=Genevey |first5=A. |last6=Levy |first6=T. E. |last7=Avner |first7=U. |last8=Najjar |first8=M. |date=August 2008 |title=Application of Copper Slag in Geomagnetic Archaeointensity Research |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2007JB005235 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=113 |issue=B8 |pages=1–26 |article-number=2007JB005235 |doi=10.1029/2007JB005235 |bibcode=2008JGRB..113.8101B |via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ben-Yosef |first1=Erez |last2=Tauxe |first2=Lisa |last3=Levy |first3=Thomas E. |last4=Shaar |first4=Ron |last5=Ron |first5=Hagai |last6=Najjar |first6=Mohammad |date=Oct 2009 |title=Geomagnetic Intensity Spike Recorded in High Resolution Slag Deposit in Southern Jordan |url=https://cris.huji.ac.il/en/publications/geomagnetic-intensity-spike-recorded-in-high-resolution-slag-depo |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=287 |issue=3–4 |pages=529–539 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2009.09.001 |bibcode=2009E&PSL.287..529B |via=|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Shaar |first1=Ron |last2=Ben-Yosef |first2=Erez |last3=Ron |first3=Hagai |last4=Tauxe |first4=Lisa |last5=Agnon |first5=Amotz |last6=Kessel |first6=Ronit |date=January 2011 |title=Geomagnetic Field Intensity: How High Can it Get? How Fast can it Change? Constraints from Iron Age Copper Slag |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X10007089 |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=301 |issue=1–2 |pages=297–306 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2010.11.013 |bibcode=2011E&PSL.301..297S |via=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This effort, currently continued by his students, is expected to deliver a brand new dating technique for the archaeological community.<ref name=":1" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links ==
*[https://www.facebook.com/earthhuji/posts/10151404104662449/ Short lecture competition in honoring Prof. Hagi Ron and on behalf of the] Israel Geological Society, April 2013 (in Hebrew).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ron, Hagai}} Category:1944 births Category:2012 deaths Category:Educators from Mandatory Palestine Category:Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Category:Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Stanford University School of Earth Sciences faculty