Dr. Steve Clifford

Senior Scientist

Currently resides in TX

sclifford [at] psi.edu

Areas of Expertise

Targets: Earth, Icy satellites, Mars

Disciplines/Techniques: Field Work, Geology, Geomorphology, Numerical modeling, Radar, Remote sensing, Thermal modeling

Missions: Mars Express (ESA), Rosetta

Mission Roles: Mission Co-Investigator, Mission science team

Primary area of research: the nature, evolution and geophysical investigation of planetary volatiles, with a special emphasis on water on Mars.
Work has included research on the factors and processes affecting the distribution, stability and transport of H2O in the Martian near- and deep-subsurface; glacial flow and polar evolution; the formation and stability of gas hydrates; large-scale groundwater flow; the hydrologic consequences of impact cratering; the existence and fate of an early ocean; as well as other aspects of the long-term evolution of the Martian hydrosphere.

Professional Employment:

Senior Research Scientist (2018-present), Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ.
Senior Staff Scientist (2006-2018), Lunar and Planetary Institute/USRA, LPI Post-Doctoral Fellow (1984-1985); LPI Staff Scientist (1985 – 1993); LPI Visiting Scientist (1993-1997); and LPI Staff Scientist (1997 – 2006).
Invited Professor:

DES (Interactions et Dynamique des Environnements de Surface (IDES), Université Paris Sud, Orsay, France (analysis of Mars orbital radar and imagery data to assess the evidence for a former ocean in the northern plains) and Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Guyancourt, France (development of the WISDOM ground-penetrating radar for the 2020 ESA ExoMars Rover mission), (2 months total, 2012).
Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble, Université Joseph Fourier (2 months, 2010), Grenoble, France. Orbital radar sounding investigations of the geology and subsurface hydrology of Mars.
Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) (1 month, 2010), Guyancourt, France. Radar field investigations of Mars analog environments and numerical simulations of HF and VHF radar performance on Mars.
Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), Department of Space and Planetary Geophysics, (3 months, 2008), Paris, France. Research on GPR and other geophysical investigations of planetary environments.

Education:

Active Spacecraft Mission & Instrument Involvement:

Science PI (2017 – present), An Ultra-Wideband Radar for Measurements of Martian Polar Layered Deposits and Seasonal Ice, submitted to NASA’s Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations (PICASSO) Program.
Deputy Science Team Leader (2006 – present), WISDOM VHF ground penetrating radar (V. Ciarletti, PI) selected for ESA’s 2020 ExoMars Rover mission.
Science Team Member (2006 – present), CONSERT HF radar on ESA’s Rosetta comet mission (W. Kofman, PI).
U. S. Participating Scientist (2003 – present), MARSIS orbital radar sounder (G. Picardi, PI; J.J. Plautt, U.S. Co-PI), ESA’s Mars Express mission.