I use physics and mathematics to solve problems in the Earth and Planetary Sciences. Most of my time is spent on computations, small and large, but with the help of many collaborators, I have been involved in research using a variety of methodologies: field work, laboratory experiments, spacecraft data analysis, physical models, and applied mathematics.

My background is theoretical physics, but much of my recent research has been in the context of Mars exploration; I am particularly interested in developing a Milankovitch theory of orbitally driven climate variations on Mars. More generally, I study active physical processes on the surfaces of Mars, Earth, the Moon, and asteroids, mostly processes that involve H₂O.

Among the projects I am currently working on are: (i) A coupled atmosphere-subsurface climate model of Mars which I believe to be the next major step in Mars water cycle modeling, (ii) a survey of permafrost on the Hawaiian Islands (sporadic permafrost on Mauna Kea and ice caves on Mauna Loa), (iii) development of physically and computationally more powerful models for heat and volatile transport on the Moon, (iv) GPU-accelerated computing, (v) slope streaks and low-latitude frost on Mars.

Movies and Slides

	Slides from a seminar about the astronomical theory of ice ages on Mars most recent version: 2010
	Slides from a seminar about the lifetime of ice on main belt asteroids based on Schorghofer, ApJ 682, 697–705 (2008) and more recent work. most recent version: 2011
	Mars Orbiter Camera observations of seasonal frost on pole facing slopes: Movie in wmv format. For a detailed description see Schorghofer & Edgett, Icarus 180, 321–334 (2006).
	Model calculations of the accumulation of ground ice from atmospherically derived water vapor under Mars conditions: Movie in wmv format. For a detailed description see Schorghofer & Aharonson, JGR 110, E05003 (2005).

In the Printed Media (partial list)

• Prickly City Comic Strip. Washington Post and Seattle Times, 24 September 2007.
• Jeff Hecht. The ebb and flow of Martian ice. New Scientist Magazine, page 23, 15 September 2007.
• Oliver Morton. Mars revisited. National Geographic Magazine, pages 2-31, January 2004.
• Robert Burnham. A new type of martian landslide. Astronomy Magazine, page 30, November 2003.
• Leo Kadanoff. A model of turbulence. Physics Today, pages 11-13, September 1995.

Opportunities

• Spacegrant
• Summer internship at the Institute for Astronomy
• UROP

Other

N. Schörghofer. "Lessons in Computational Physics". Book draft
www2.hawaii.edu/~norbert/compphysics.html or http://tinyurl.com/computationalphysics