Phone:: (023) 8059 7322
Email:: B.Thornton@soton.ac.uk

Dr Blair Thornton

Associate Professor of Oceanic Engineering Science

Related links: Personal homepage

Blair Thorton is an Associate Professor of Oceanic Engineering Science within the faculty of Engineering at the University of Southampton

I am an Associate Professor of Oceanic Engineering Science at the University of Southampton. My research interests are in sensing and autonomy in the context of marine science. I am dedicated to fielding real systems in real environments and overcoming bottlenecks in the flow of information from data collection to human interpretation.

Keywords: Spectroscopy, Computer vision, Marine robotics, Autonomy

Research

Publications

Contact

Research interests

3D visual mapping for wide-area benthic surveys

Laser-induced plasmas for in situ multi-element chemical analysis at sea

Acoustic and 3D visual mapping of the volumetric distribution of manganese crusts

In situ measurement of seafloor radioactivity off Fukushima

Research group

Fluid Structure Interactions

Affiliate research groups

Ocean and Earth Science, Ocean Perception Laboratory, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo

Articles

Usui, A., Nishi, K., Sato, H., Nakasato, Y., Thornton, B., Kashiwabara, T., ... Urabe, T. (2017). Continuous growth of hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts since 17 Myr ago on Takuyo-Daigo Seamount, NW Pacific, at water depths of 800-5500 m. Ore Geology Reviews, 87, 71-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2016.09.032

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2017). Generation of high-resolution 3D reconstructions of the sea floor in colour using a single camera and structured light. Journal of Field Robotics, 34(5), 833–851. DOI: 10.1002/rob.21682

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Nakajima, R., & Ura, T. (2017). Methods for quantitative studies of seafloor hydrothermal systems using 3D visual reconstructions. Robomech Journal, 4(22). DOI: 10.1186/s40648-017-0091-5

Takahashi, T., & Thornton, B. (2017). Quantitative methods for compensation of matrix effects in LIBS signals of solids, Spectrochimica Acta B. Spectrochimica Acta Part B: Atomic Spectroscopy.

Matsumoto, A., Tamura, A., Koda, R., Fukami, K., Ogata, Y. H., Nishi, N., ... Sakka, T. (2016). A calibration-free approach for on-site multi-element analysis of metal ions in aqueous solutions by electrodeposition-assisted underwater laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy, 118, 45-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2016.02.005

Nishida, Y., Nagahashi, K., Sato, T., Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Asada, A., & Ura, T. (2016). Autonomous underwater vehicle “BOSS-A” for acoustic and visual survey of manganese crusts. Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, 28(1), 91-94. DOI: 10.20965/jrm.2016.p0091

Thornton, B., Bodenmann, A., Pizarro, O., Williams, S. B., Friedman, A., Nakajima, R., ... Ura, T. (2016). Biometric assessment of deep-sea vent megabenthic communities using multi-resolution 3D image reconstructions. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 116, 200-219. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.08.009

Ohnishi, S., Thornton, B., Kamada, S., Hirao, Y., Ura, T., & Odano, N. (2016). Conversion factor and uncertainty estimation for quantification of towed gamma-ray detector measurements in Tohoku coastal waters. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 819, 111-121. DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2016.02.065

Takahashi, T., Thornton, B., Sato, T., Ohki, T., Ohki, K., & Sakka, T. (2016). Temperature based segmentation for spectral data of laser-induced plasmas for quantitative compositional analysis of brass alloys submerged in water. Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy, 124, 87-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2016.08.025

Takahashi, T., Thornton, B., Ohki, K., & Sakka, T. (2015). Calibration-free analysis of immersed brass alloys using long-ns-duration pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy with and without correction for nonstoichiometric ablation. Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy, 111, 8-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2015.06.009

Thornton, B., Takahashi, T., Sato, T., Sakka, T., Tamura, A., Matsumoto, A., ... Ohki, K. (2015). Development of a deep-sea laser-induced breakdown spectrometer for in situ multi-element chemical analysis. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 95, 20-36. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2014.10.006

Matsumoto, A., Tamura, A., Koda, R., Fukami, K., Ogata, Y. H., Nishi, N., ... Sakka, T. (2015). On-site quantitative elemental analysis of metal ions in aqueous solutions by underwater laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy combined with electrodeposition under controlled potential. Analytical Chemistry, 87(3), 1655-1661. DOI: 10.1021/ac503737c

Saeki, M., Iwanade, A., Ito, C., Wakaida, I., Thornton, B., Sakka, T., & Ohba, H. (2014). Development of a fiber-coupled laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument for analysis of underwater debris in a nuclear reactor core. Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(7-8), 930-938. DOI: 10.1080/00223131.2014.917996

Hirao, Y., Ohnishi, S., Thornton, B., Yano, Y., Odano, N., & Ura, T. (2014). Development of a sonar system to estimate the seafloor subsurface burial depth of a towed gamma-ray spectrometer. Marine Technology Society Journal, 48(3), 155-166. DOI: 10.4031/MTSJ.48.3.13

Sakka, T., Tamura, A., Matsumoto, A., Fukami, K., Nishi, N., & Thornton, B. (2014). Effects of pulse width on nascent laser-induced bubbles for underwater laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy, 97, 94-98. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2014.05.009

Thornton, B., Sakka, T., Masamura, T., Tamura, A., Takahashi, T., & Matsumoto, A. (2014). Long-duration nano-second single pulse lasers for observation of spectra from bulk liquids at high hydrostatic pressures. Spectrochimica Acta Part B Atomic Spectroscopy, 97, 7-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2014.04.008

Thornton, B., Ohnishi, S., Ura, T., Odano, N., & Fujita, T. (2013). Continuous measurement of radionuclide distribution off Fukushima using a towed sea-bed gamma ray spectrometer. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 79, 10-19. DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2013.05.001

Thornton, B., Yano, Y., & Ura, T. (2013). Development of a towed sea-bed gamma ray spectrometer. Journal of the Japan Society for Marine Surveys and Technology, 25(2), 21-26. DOI: 10.11306/jsmst.25.2_1

Thornton, B., Ohnishi, S., Ura, T., Odano, N., Sasaki, S., Fujita, T., ... Ambe, D. (2013). Distribution of local 137Cs anomalies on the seafloor near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 74(1), 344-350. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.06.031

Takahashi, T., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2013). Investigation of influence of hydrostatic pressure on double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for detection of Cu and Zn in submerged solids. Applied Physics Express, 6(42403), 1-3. DOI: 10.7567/APEX.6.042403

Sasaki, S., Thornton, B., Yano, Y., & Ura, T. (2013). Localization of a seafloor towed gamma ray spectrometer. Journal of the Japan Society for Marine Surveys and Technology, 25(2), 7-12. DOI: 10.11306/jsmst.25.2_7

Thornton, B., Sakka, T., Takahashi, T., Tamura, A., Masamura, T., & Matsumoto, A. (2013). Spectroscopic measurements of solids immersed in water at high pressure using a long-duration nanosecond laser pulse. Applied Physics Express, 6(8), 82401. DOI: 10.7567/APEX.6.082401

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2012). 3D Mapping of the Seafloor with Automated Data Analysis: 3D Color Reconstructions for Quantitative Algorithm-Based Analysis. Sea Technology, 53, 41-46.

Thornton, B., Takahashi, T., Ura, T., & Sakka, T. (2012). Cavity formation and material ablation for single-pulse laser-ablated solids immersed in water at high pressure. Applied Physics Express, 5(10), 1-3. DOI: 10.1143/APEX.5.102402

Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2011). Effects of pressure on the optical emissions observed from solids immersed in water using a single pulse laser. Applied Physics Express, 4(22702), 1-3. DOI: 10.1143/APEX.4.022702

Thornton, B., Bodenmann, A., & Ura, T. (2010). 3D Mapping of the Seafloor in Colour Using a Single Camera: Benthic Mapping Based on Video Recordings’, Laser Profiling To Generate Coloured 3D Reconstructions of the Seafloor. Sea Technology, 51, 51-53.

Tang, S., Ura, T., Nakatani, T., Thornton, B., & Jiang, T. (2009). Estimation of the hydrodynamic coefficients of the complex-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle TUNA-SAND. Journal of Marine Science and Technology, 14(3), 373-386. DOI: 10.1007/s00773-009-0055-4

Thornton, B., Ura, T., Nose, Y., & Turnock, S. (2007). Zero-G class underwater robots: unrestricted attitude control using control moment gyros. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 32(3), 565-583. DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2007.899274

Conferences

Takahashi, T., Thornton, B., Sato, T., Ohki, T., Ohki, K., & Sakka, T. (2016). A real-time chemical analysis of rocks at the bottom of the Deep-sea - Development of a quantitative analytical method. Abstract from 9th International Conference on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France.

Otsuki, Y., Thornton, B., Maki, T., Nishida, Y., Bodenmann, A., & Nagano, K. (2016). Autonomous adaptive path planning of multi resolution visual surveys based on scene complexity. In AUV 2016 Workshop.

Nishida, Y., Nagahashi, K., Sato, T., Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Asada, A., & Ura, T. (2016). Autonomous survey system of manganese crusts using acoustic and visual instruments. In Robomec 2016 .

Massot-Campos, M., Oliver, G., Bodenmann, A., & Thornton, B. (2016). Submap bathymetric SLAM using structured light in underwater environments. Paper presented at Autonomous Underwater Vehicles 2016 (AUV 2016), Japan.

Yelameli, M., Thornton, B., Takahashi, T., Weerkoon, T., Takemura, Y., & Ishii, K. (2016). Support vector machine based classification of seafloor rock types measured underwater using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Paper presented at Oceans 2016 Shanghai, Shanghai, China.

Nakajima, Y., Thornton, B., & Sato, T. (2015). Application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for In-situ measurement of metal grade for seafloor mineral processing. In Oceans 2015 . IEEE Press. DOI: 10.23919/OCEANS.2015.7404482

Nishida, Y., Sato, T., Nagahashi, K., Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Asada, A., & Ura, T. (2015). Development of an autonomous underwater vehicle for survey of cobalt-rich manganese crust. In OCEANS'15 MTS/IEEE Washington. IEEE Press. DOI: 10.23919/OCEANS.2015.7404606

Murata, K., Thornton, B., Nagano, K., & Ohnishi, S. (2015). Generation of 137Cs surface distribution maps using dense measurement transects of a towed gamma-ray spectrometer. In Oceans 2015. IEEE Press.

Sato, T., Thornton, B., Takahashi, T., Sakka, T., Ohki, T., & Ohki, K. (2015). Towards real -time quantification of seawater composition using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. In Oceans 2015 .

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2014). Visual 3D mapping to measure hydrothermal deposit growth rates at a man-made deep sea vent. In Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), 2014 IEEE/OES. DOI: 10.1109/AUV.2014.7054421

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2013). Development of long range color imaging for wide area 3D reconstructions of the seafloor. In Underwater Technology Symposium (UT), 2013 IEEE International.

Sato, T., Thornton, B., Bodenmann, A., Asada, A., & Ura, T. (2013). Towards real-time control of a double gimbaled acoustic probe for measurement of manganese crusts thickness. In 2013 IEEE International Underwater Technology Symposium (UT) . DOI: 10.1109/UT.2013.6519880

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Nakajima, R., Yamamoto, H., & Ura, T. (2013). Wide area 3D seafloor reconstruction and its application to sea fauna density mapping. In Oceans 2013 Sandiego. DOI: 10.23919/OCEANS.2013.6741280

Sato, T., Thornton, B., Bodenmann, A., Asada, A., & Ura, T. (2012). Towards active control of a gimbaled acoustic probe for measurement of manganese crusts thickness. In The 23rd Ocean Engineering Symposium.

Sangekar, M., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2012). Wide area seafloor observation using an Autonomous Landing Vehicle with adaptive resolution capability. In Oceans 2012. IEEE Press. DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS.2012.6404877

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Nakatani, T., & Ura, T. (2011). 3D colour reconstruction of a hydrothermally active area using an underwater robot. In Oceans 2011 . IEEE Press. DOI: 10.23919/OCEANS.2011.6107059

Sangekar, M., Thornton, B., Nakatani, T., Bodenmann, A., Sakamaki, T., & Ura, T. (2011). Autonomous landing experiments with an underwater vehicle for multi-resolution wide area seafloor survey. In Oceans 2011 Kona.

Thornton, B., Bodenmann, A., Hara, S., Hioki, K., Kojima, M., Ura, T., ... Fujiwara, Y. (2011). Development of 8m long range imaging technology for generation of wide area colour 3D seafloor reconstructions. In Oceans 2012 . IEEE Press. DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS.2012.6405002

Sangekar, M., Thornton, B., Ura, T., Sakamaki, T., & Bodenmann, A. (2011). Experiments for autonomous landing of an underwater vehicle at Teishi Knoll. Abstract from Blue Earth 11, Tokyo, Japan.

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Ura, T., & Sangekar, M. (2011). High resolution 3D visual mapping of the seafloor using one camera and a sheet laser. In 22nd Ocean Engineering Symposion.

Masamura, T., Thornton, B., & Ura, T. (2011). Spectroscopy and imaging of laser-induced plasmas for chemical analysis of bulk aqueous solutions at high pressures. In Oceans 2011. DOI: 10.23919/OCEANS.2011.6107194

Sangekar, M., Thornton, B., Nakatani, T., & Ura, T. (2010). Development of a landing algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles using laser profiling. In Development of a Landing Algorithm for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles using Laser Profiling. DOI: 10.1109/OCEANSSYD.2010.5603850

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Ura, T., Sangekar, M., Nakatani, T., & Sakamaki, T. (2010). Pixel based mapping using a sheet laser and camera for generation of coloured 3D seafloor reconstructions. In Oceans 2010 . IEEE Press. DOI: 10.1109/OCEANS.2010.5664363

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Ura, T., & Sangekar, M. (2010). Pixel mapping for generation of 3D coloured seafloor bathymetry using a single camera. Paper presented at AUV2010, United States.DOI: 10.1109/AUV.2010.5779673

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Ura, T., & Painumgal , U. V. (2009). Mapping the inside of a water pipe with an underwater robot. In Proc. 2009 JSME Conf. on Robotics and Mechatronics. DOI: 10.1299/jsmermd.2009._1P1-B02_1

Bodenmann, A., Thornton, B., Ura, T., & Painumgal , U. V. (2009). Visual mapping of internal pipe walls using sparse features for application on board autonomous underwater vehicles. Paper presented at Oceans '09. Oceans 2009-Europe, 2009, .DOI: 10.1109/OCEANSE.2009.5278231

Thesis

Thornton, B. (2006). The development of Zero-G class underwater robots: unrestricted attitude control using control moment gyros

Dr Blair Thornton
Engineering and the Environment University of Southampton Highfield Southampton SO17 1BJ

Room Number:176/3019

Telephone:(023) 8059 7322
Email:B.Thornton@soton.ac.uk

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