JOEL S. LEVINE, Ph.D.

Research Professor of Applied Science

(757) 221-7762; jslevine@wm.edu

Prof. Levine teaches the origin, early history, and evolution of the atmosphere and the coupling between the origin and evolution of the atmosphere and the origin and evolution of life; global sources of atmospheric gases, including biogeochemical cycles, biogenic emissions and biomass burning.

Current Areas of Research:

1. Investigate the impact of wind-blown atmospheric dust on the temperature and density of the atmosphere of Mars.

2. How did Mars lose the bulk (>99%) of its atmosphere?

3. Atmospheric methane: Sources, sinks, atmospheric lifetime.

4. Why is the surface of Mars so highly chemically active?

5. Evidence for present-day liquid water on Mars (e.g., crater gullies).

6. Crustal magnetism on Mars: Origin of crustal magnetism and its implications as surface radiation “safe havens.”

7. Terraforming Mars to make it more hospitable for human colonization: Mechanisms, processes, time-scales.

8. Planning for the human exploration of Mars.

See: Joel S. Levine, Lecturer: Why We Need to Go Back to Mars at: TED, Ideas Worth Spreading

See: Mars airplane web pages at the NASA Langley Research Center.

See: Joel S. Levine, Co-Editor: "Colonizing Mars: The Human Mission to the Red Planet," in the special issue of the Journal of Cosmology

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