Academic Background | Research Interests | Publications

Mailing Address:
121 Olin Hall
34th and North Charles Streets
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
U.S.A.

Academic Background
1969 Ph.D. Harvard University

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Research Interests and Biography

Planetary Atmospheres/Astrophysics

My educational background is in physics and I specialize in planetary atmospheres/astrophysics. I study a broad range of fundamental problems in atmospheric chemistry, dynamics, and radiation pertinent to the atmospheres of the giant planets and their satellites with the goal to understand the global structure of composition, pressure, temperature, and winds. Of particular current interest are magnetospheric plasma interactions with the extended atmospheres of Titan, Triton, Pluto, and the Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, and Ganymede) and investigation of the energy balance, ionospheric structure, and radiative output of their upper atmospheres, and the mass loading rates of the parent planets' magnetospheres. As a Co-Investigator of the UV Spectrometer Experiment on the Voyager Mission, I led in the identification of N2 as major constituent in the atmospheres of Titan and Triton and the interpretation of UV data in terms of energetics, charge exchange processes, and basic plasma properties of the Io plasma torus. With colleagues Paul Feldman and Warren Moos of the Hopkins Physics and Astronomy Dept., we have an active observational program with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) of Jupiter, its Io plasma torus, and the Galilean satellites.

As the Cassini Mission Orbiter Interdisciplinary Scientist for Aeronomy and Solar Wind Interaction, I am currently involved in analysis and interpretation of data being taken on the initial 4 year orbital tour of the Saturnian system that started in July 2004. An extended Cassini Mission through July 2010 is highly probable. I am also a Co-Investigator on the New Horizons Pluto Kuiper-belt Mission, which was successfully launched on January 19, 2006 and will arrive at Pluto in July 2015, after flying by Jupiter during February 2007 and performing observations of the Jovian system. For current topics of research consult my recent publications.

In addition to my planetary interests, I have pursued research on topics concerning the Earth's atmosphere. My early studies of the earth's F-region ionosphere led to the recognition of the important role that thermospheric wind systems play in plasma transport and seasonal variations of the electron density. More recently, my interests in terrestrial research have been on the dynamics of the middle atmosphere and the coupling and interaction of chemistry, radiation, and dynamics, including detailed studies of the zonally averaged circulation and minor constituent transport by waves and the mean circulation, which I still pursue with my colleague Xun Zhu of JHU Applied Physics Laboratory.

In 1968 Prof. Strobel joined the Planetary Science Division at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson as a Research Associate where he began theoretical studies of planetary atmospheres and continued his research in terrestrial aeronomy. He was promoted to Assistant Physicist in 1970 and in 1972 to Associate Physicist. Prof. Strobel joined the Naval Research Laboratory's Plasma Physics Division in 1973 as a research physicist responsible for theoretical studies of the earth's atmosphere. In 1976 he was promoted to the Head of the Atmospheric Dynamics Section in the Geophysical and Plasma Dynamics Branch. In 1984 Dr. Strobel joined the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences of The Johns Hopkins University as a Professor, and also has a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and is on the Principal Research Staff of Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He is the author of approximately 165 journal publications and 17 book chapters.

Prof. Strobel is a member of the American Astronomical Society - Division of Planetary Sciences, a fellow of the American Geophysical Union,and member of the International Astronomical Union. He served as an Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research, 1976-1979, Space physics section; 1982-1984, Atmospheres section; Associate Editor, Icarus, 1980-2006; on the Committee on Solar and Space Physics, SSB, NAS, 1982-1985, the Space Science Board (SSB), 1985-1988, the Space Studies Board, 1988-1989, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), on the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration (COMPLEX), SSB, 1992-1996, on the Committee on International Programs, Space Studies Board, 1996-1998, and is currently on COMPLEX for a second term. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Upper Atmosphere, American Meteorological Society, 1982-1984, and as the Chair and Vice Chair of the Fachbeirat, MAX-PLANCK INSTITUT fur Kernphysik, 1994-2001. Prof. Strobel was a member of the Outer Planets Study Team of the NAS-ESF Joint Working Group on Planetary Exploration, 1983, that constructed plans for the Cassini-Huygens Mission and wrote its science objectives.

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