Peer reviewed journal articles

2026

• Cailei Liang, Adrian Bodenmann, Sam Fenton, Blair Thornton, Online Clustering of Seafloor Imagery for Interpretation during Long-Term AUV Operations, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering AUV2026 Special Issue (Accepted)

• Cailei Liang, Adrian Bodenmann, Emma Curtis, Samuel Simmons, Kazunori Nagano, Stan Brown, Adam Riese, Blair Thornton, Investigating Location-Regularised Self-Supervised Feature Learning for Seafloor Visual Imagery, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering AUV2026 Special Issue (Accepted)

• Adrian Bodenmann, Cailei Liang, Miguel Massot Campos, Samuel Simmons , Alexander Phillips, Alberto Consensi Matthew Kingsland, Rashiid Sherif, Stan Brown, Adam Riese, Blair Thornton, Remote Awareness of Seafloor Images Collected by AUVs over Low-Bandwidth Communication Links, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering AUV2026 Special Issue (Accepted)

• Leo Micklem, Huazhi Dong, Francesco Giorgio-Serchi, Yunjie Yang, Blair Thornton, Gabriel D. Weymouth, Harnessing proprioception in aquatic soft wings enables hybrid passive-active disturbance rejection, npj Robotics 4, 16 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44182-026-00078-z

2025

• Ariell Friedman, Jacquomo Monk, Oscar Pizarro, Dhugal J Lindsay, Elizabeth Oh, Blair Thornton, Andrew G Carroll, Rachel Przeslawski, Stefan B Williams, Squidle+: a collaborative platform to manage, discover and annotate marine imagery, Frontiers in Marine Science 12, 1677103

• Alexander O’Loughlin, Samuel Simmons, Melike Kurt, Blair Thornton, Soft buckling achieves consistent large-amplitude deformation for pulse jetting underwater robots, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics 20(5), 056008, DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/adfbb7

• Cailei Liang, Jose Cappelletto, Miquel Massot-Campos, Adrian Bodenmann, Veerle A.I. Huvenne, Catherine Wardell, Brian J. Bett, Darryl Newborough, Blair Thornton, Self-Supervised Learning with Multimodal Remote Sensed Maps for Seafloor Visual Class Inference, International Journal of Robotics Research 44(14), DOI: 10.1177/02783649251343640 (Image used as Journal issue cover page)

• Adrian Bodenmann, Daniel O.B. Jones, Alexander B. Phillips, Robert Templeton, Rashiid Sherif, Francesco Fanelli, Darryl Newborough, and Blair Thornton, Remote Awareness of Image Quality for Multi-week Shore-launched AUV Surveys, IEEE Transaction on Field Robotics 2, 147-164, DOI: 10.1109/TFR.2025.3529435

2024

• Mojtaba Masoudi, Sarah L.C. Giering, Noushin Eftekhari, Miquel Massot-Campos, Jean-Olivier Irisson, and Blair Thornton, Optimizing Plankton Image Classification with Metadata-Enhanced Representation Learning, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing 17, 17117-17133, 10.1109/JSTARS.2024.3424498

• Tarojiro Matsumura, Tomoko Takahashi, Kenji Nagata, Yasunobu Ando, Akira Yada, Blair Thornton, Tatsu Kuwatani, High-throughput calibration-free laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 8, 1259-1271, DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.4c00067

• Lewis Grant, Miquel Massot-Campos, Blair Thornton, Francesca Rotondo, Damon, A. H. Teagle, Rosalind Coggon, Leveraging Spatial Metadata in Machine Learning for Improved Objective Quantification of Geological Drill Core, Earth and Space Science 11, e2023EA003220. DOI: 10.1029/2023EA003220

• Emma Curtis, Jennifer Durden, Brian Bett, Veerle Huvenne, Nils Piechaud, Jenny Walker, James Albrecht, Miquel Massot-Campos, Takaki Yamada, Adrian Bodenmann, Jose Cappelletto, James Strong, Blair Thornton, Improving coral monitoring by reducing variability and bias in cover estimates from seabed images, Progress in Oceanography 222, 103214, DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2024.103214.

• Umesh Neettiyath, Tetsu Koike, Nagano Kazunori, Harumi Sugimatsu, Tamaki Ura, Blair Thornton, Multi-robot multimodal deep sea surveys for detailed estimation of Manganese crust distribution, IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine 31, 84-95, DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2023.3348304

2023

• Tomoko Takahashi, Wataru Takahagi, Eiji Tasumi, Akiko Makabe, Koudai Taguchi, Blair Thornton, Ken Takai, In Situ Measurement of Liquid and Gas CO₂ with High Purity at Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents in the Mariana Arc using Raman Spectroscopy, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry 7, 2489-2497 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00224

• Miquel Massot-Campos, Francisco Bonin-Font, Eric Guerrero-Font, Antoni Martorell-Torres, Miguel Martin Abadal, Caterina Muntaner-Gonzalez, Bo Miquel Nordfeldt-Fiol, Gabriel Oliver, Jose Cappelletto, Blair Thornton, Assessing Benthic Marine Habitats Colonised with Posidonia oceanica using Autonomous Marine Robots and Deep Learning: a Eurofleets Campaign, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 291, 108438, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2023.108438.

• Harumi Sugimatsu, Yuya Nishida, Sotaro Takashima, Kazunori Nagano, Shogo Inoue, Blair Thornton, Tamaki Ura, Tomonori Hamatsu, Investigation of demersal fish using Autonomous Underwater Vehicle - Kichiji Rockfish, Sebastrobus macrochir (Günther, 1877), surveys and challenges, Journal of the Japan Society for Marine Surveys and Technology, 35 (2023) in Japanese

• Tomoko Takahashi, Zonghua Liu, Thangevel Thevar, Nicholas Burns, Dhugal Lindsay, John Watson, Sumeet Mahajan, Satoru Yukioka, Shuhei Tanaka, Yukiko Nagai, Blair Thornton, Multimodal Image and Spectral Feature Learning for Efficient Analysis of Water-Suspended Particles, Optics Express 31, 7492-7504, DOI: 10.1364/OE.470878

2022

• Christopher Gotts, Benjamin Hall, Oliver Beaumont, Ziyang Chen, William Cleaver, James England, David White, Blair Thornton, Development of a Prototype Autonomous Inspection Robot for Offshore Riser Cables, Ocean Engineering 257, 111485, DOI:10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111485

• Takaki Yamada, Adam Prugel-Bennett, Oscar Pizarro, Stephan Williams and Blair Thornton, GeoCLR: Georeference Contrastive Learning for Efficient Seafloor Image Interpretation, Field Robotics 2 (now IEEE Transactions on Field Robotics), 1134-1155, DOI:10.55417/fr.2022037

• Takaki Yamada, Miquel Massot-Campos, Adam Prugel-Bennett, Oscar Pizarro, Stephan Williams and Blair Thornton, Guiding Labelling Effort for Efficient Learning With Georeferenced Images, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence 45, DOI: 10.1109/TPAMI.2021.3140060 (supplementary material)

2021

• Yann Marcon, Deborah Kelley, Blair Thornton, Dana Manalang, Gerhard Bohrmann, Variability of Natural Methane Bubble Release at Southern Hydrate Ridge, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 22, e2021GC009894, DOI: 10.1029/2021GC009894

• Zonghua Liu, Thangavel Thevar, Tomoko Takahashi, Nick Burns, Takaki Yamada, Mehul Sangekar, Dhugal Lindsay, John Watson, Blair Thornton, Unsupervised feature learning and clustering of particles imaged in raw holograms using an autoencoder, Journal of the Optical Society of America A 38 (2021) 1570-1580, DOI: 10.1364/JOSAA.424271

• Takaki Yamada, Miquel Massot-Campos, Adam Prugel-Bennett, Stefan B. Williams, Oscar Pizarro, Blair Thornton, Leveraging Metadata in Representation Learning with Georeferenced Imagery, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 6 (2021) 7815-7822 doi: 10.1109/LRA.2021.310188

• Zonghua Liu, Tomoko Takahashi, Dhugal Lindsay, Thangavel Thevar, Mehul Sangekar, Hiromi Watanabe, Nick Burns, John Watson, Blair Thornton, Digital In-line Holography for Large-Volume Analysis of Vertical Motion of Micro-scale Marine Plankton and Other Particles, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 46 (2021) 1248 - 1260, DOI:10.1109/JOE.2021.3066788

• Seiki Ohnishi , Blair Thornton , Toshikazu Koike , Naoteru Odano , Mitsufumi Asami , So Kamada , Kazunori Nagano, Tamaki Ura, Analysis of radioactive cesium-enriched particles and measurement of their distribution in marine sediment near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 58(4), 2021, 482-492, DOI: 10.1080/00223131.2021.1879688

2020

• Takeshi Ohki, Hitoshi Kakami, Yuya Nishida, Takeshi Nakatani, Blair Thornton, Development and testing of an unmanned surface towing system for autonomous transport of multiple heterogeneous underwater vehicles for seafloor survey, Marine Technology Society Journal 54(5), (2020) 61-71(11), DOI: 10.4031/MTSJ.54.5.10

• Takaki Yamada, Adam Prugel-Bennet, Blair Thornton, Learning Features from Georeferenced Seafloor Imagery with Location Guided Autoencoders, Journal of Field Robotics 38, (2020) 52-67, DOI: 10.1002/rob.21961

• Tomoko Takahashi, Zonghua Liu, Thangavel Thevar, Nicholas Burns, Sumeet Mahajan, Dhugal Lindsay John Watson, Blair Thornton, Identification of microplastics in a large water volume by integrated holography and Raman spectroscopy, Applied Optics 59(17), (2020) 5073-5078, DOI: 10.1364/AO.393643 Editor’s pick with this associated media article. Dr Takahashi received the UT2021 online research video award for a video entry based on this research

• Tomoko Takahashi, Soichi Yoshino, Yutaro Takaya,Tatsuo Nozaki, Koichi Ohki, Toshihiko Ohki, Tetsuo Sakka, Blair Thornton, Quantitative in situ mapping of elements in deep-sea hydrothermal vents using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and multivariate analysis, Deep-Sea Research Part I 158, (2020) 103232, DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2020.103232

• Umesh Neettiyath, Blair Thornton, Mehul Sangekar, Yuya Nishida, Kazuo Ishii, Adrian Bodenmann, Takumi Sato, Tamaki Ura, Akira Asada, Deep-sea robotic survey and data processing methods for regional scale estimation of manganese crust distribution, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 46(1), (2020) 102-114. DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2020.2978967

2019

• Mehul Sangekar, Blair Thornton, Adrian Bodenmann, Tamaki Ura, Autonomous landing of underwater vehicles using high resolution bathymetry, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 45(4), (2019) 1252-1267. DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2019.2946923

• Blair Thornton, Sizing drop weights for deep diving submersibles taking into account non-uniform seawater density profiles, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 45(3), (2019) 979-989. DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2019.2898070

2018

• Mallikarjun Yelameli, Blair Thornton, Tomoko Takahashi, Tharindu Weerkoon, Kazuo Ishii, Classification and statistical analysis of hydrothermal seafloor rocks measured underwater using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Journal of Chemometrics, (2018) e3092, DOI: 10.1002/cem.3092

• Tomoko Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Takumi Sato, Toshihiko Ohki, Koichi Ohki, Tetsuo Sakka, Partial least squares regression calculation for quantitative analysis of metals submerged in water measured using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Applied Optics 57, (2018) 5872-5883, DOI: 10.1364/AO.57.005872

• Tadashi Maruyama, Tomo-o Watsuji, Tomoko Takahashi, Hiromi Kayama Watanabe, Yukiko Nagai, Yoshihiro Fujiwara, Takashi Toyofuku, Suguru Nemoto, Yuka Koyano, and Blair Thornton, In situ vital staining for chasing the galatheid crab Shinkaia crosnieri on deep-sea floor, JAMSTEC-R 27, 87-97, DOI: 10.5918/jamstecr.27.87

• Soichi Yoshino, Blair Thornton, Tomoko Takahashi, Yutaro Takaya, Tatsuo Nozaki, Signal preprocessing of deep-sea laser-induced plasma spectra for identification of pelletized hydrothermal deposits using Artificial Neural Networks, Spectrochemica Acta Part B 145, (2018) 1–7, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2018.03.015

2017

• Tomoko Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Quantitative methods for compensation of matrix effects and self-absorption in LIBS signals of solids, Spectrochimica Acta Part B 138, 31-42, (2017) 31-42. DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2017.09.010

• Adrian Bodenmann, Blair Thornton, Ryota Nakajima, Tamaki Ura, Methods for quantitative studies of seafloor hydrothermal systems using 3D visual reconstruction, Robomec Journal 4 22, (2017) 1-9. DOI 10.1186/s40648-017-0091-5

• Akira Usui, Keisuke Nishi, Hisaaki Sato, Yoshio Nakasato, Blair Thornton, Teruhiko Kashiwabara, Ayaka Tokumaru, Aya Sakaguchi, Kyoko Yamaoka, Shingo Kato, Shota Nitahara, Katsuhiko Suzuki, Koichi Iijima and Tetsuro Urabe, 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, (2017) 71-87, DOI: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2016.09.032

• Adrian Bodenmann, Blair Thornton, Tamaki Ura, Generation of High-Resolution 3D Reconstructions of the Seafloor in Colour Using a Single Camera and Structured Light, Journal of Field Robotics 34, (2017) 833–851, DOI: 10.1002/rob.21682

• Shinji Tsuchida, Yoshihiro Fujiwara, Yoshimi Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Masaru Kawato, Yumiko Yara, Tekehisa Yamakita, Katsunori Fujikura, Hiroshi Kitazato, Distribution of Benthic Animals on Marine Debris Found off Funakoshi Peninsula, Iwate, Bulletin on Coastal Oceanography 54, (2017) 129-133, DOI: 10.32142/engankaiyo.54.2_129 _in Japanese*

2016

• Blair Thornton, Adrian Bodenmann, Oscar Pizarro, Stefan Williams, Ariell Friedman, Ryota Nakajima, Ken Takai, Kaori Motoki, Tomo-o Watsuji, Hisako Hirayama, Keiko Tanaka, Yohei Matsui and Tamaki Ura, Biometric Assessment of Deep-sea Vent Megabenthos using Multi-Resolution 3D Visual Maps, Deep-sea Research I 116, (2016) 200–219, DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.08.009

• Tomoko Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Takumi Sato, Toshihiko Ohki, Koichi Ohki, Tetsuo Sakka, 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 (2016) 87-93, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2016.08.025

• Seiki Ohnishi, Blair Thornton, Sou Kamada, Yoshihiro Hirao, Tamaki Ura, Naoteru Odano, 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 819 (2016) 111–121, DOI: 10.1016/j.nima.2016.02.065

• Ayumu Matsumoto, Ayaka Tamura, Ryo Koda, Kazuhiro Fukami, Yukio H. Ogata, Naoya Nishi, Blair Thornton, Tetsuo Sakka, 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 (2016) 45-55, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2016.02.005

• Yuya Nishida, Kenji Nagahashi, Takumi Sato, Adrian Bodenmann, Blair Thornton, Akira Asada, Tamaki Ura, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle “BOSS-A” for Acoustic and Visual Survey of Manganese Crusts, Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics 28 (2016) 91-94, DOI: 10.20965/jrm.2016.p009

2015

• Tomoko Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Kohichi Ohki, Tetsuo Sakka, Calibration-Free Analysis of Immersed Brass Alloys using Long-ns-duration Pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with and without Correction for Nonstoichiometric Ablation, Spectrochmica Acta B 11 (2015) 8-14, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2015.06.009

• Ayumu Matsumoto, Ayaka Tamura, Ryo Koda, Kazuhiro Fukami, Yukio Ogata, Naoya Nishi, Blair Thornton, Tetsuo Sakka, In-Situ Quantitative Elemental Analysis of Metal Ions in Aqueous Solutions by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Combined with Electrodeposition under Controlled Potential, Analytical Chemistry 87 (2015) 1655–1661, DOI: 10.1021/ac503737c

• Blair Thornton, Tomoko Takahashi, Takumi Sato, Tetsuo Sakka, Ayaka Tamura, Ayumu Matsumoto, Tatsuo Nozaki, Toshihiko Ohki , Koichi Ohki, Development of a Deep-Sea Laser Induced Breakdown Spectrometer for In Situ Multi-element Chemical Analysis, Deep-sea Research I 95 (2015) 20-36, DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2014.10.006 Scopus most cited article between 2015 to 2020 in DSR - https://www.journals.elsevier.com/deep-sea-research-part-i-oceanographic…

2014

• Blair Thornton, Tetsuo Sakka, Tatsuya Masamura, Ayaka Tamura, Tomoko Takahashi, Ayumu Matsumoto, Long-Duration Nanosecond Single Pulse Lasers for Observation of Spectra from Bulk Liquids at High Hydrostatic Pressures, Spectrochimica Acta Part B 97 (2014) 7-12, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2014.04.008

• Tetsuo Sakka, Ayaka Tamura, Ayumu Matsumoto, Kazuhiro Fukami, Naoya Nishi, Blair Thornton, Effects of pulse width on nascent laser-induced bubbles for underwater laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, Spectrochimica Acta Part B 97 (2014) 94-98, DOI: 10.1016/j.sab.2014.05.009

• Yoshihiro Hirao, Seiko Ohnishi, Blair Thornton, Yusuke Yano, Naoteru Odano, Tamaki Ura, Development of Sonar System for Estimating the Burial Depth of Towed Gamma-ray Spectrometer System into the Seafloor, Marine Technology Society Journal 43 (2014) 155-166, DOI: 10.4031/MTSJ.48.3.13

• Morihisa Saeki, Akio Iwanade, Chikara Ito, Ikuo Wakaida, Blair Thornton, Tetsuo Sakka, Hironori Ohba, Development of fiber-coupled laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy instrument for analysis of underwater debris in nuclear reactor core, Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology 51 (2014) 930-938, DOI: 10.1080/00223131.2014.917996

2013

• Blair Thornton, Seiki Ohnishi, Tamaki Ura, Naoteru Odano, Shun Sasaki, Tsuneo Fujita, Tomowo Watanabe, Kaoru Nakata, Tsuneo Ono, Daisuke Ambe, Distribution of local 137-Cs anomalies on the seafloor near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, Marine Pollution Bulletin 74 (2013) 344-350, DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.06.031

• Shun Sasaki, Blair Thornton, Yusuke Yano, Tamaki Ura, Localization of a Seafloor Towed Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Journal of the Japan Society for Marine Surveys and Technology, 25(2) (2013) 7-12, DOI: 10.11306/jsmst.25.27 _in Japanese

• Blair Thornton, Yusuke Yano, Tamaki Ura, The Development of a Towed Sea-bed Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Journal of the Japan Society for Marine Surveys and Technology, 25(2) (2013) 1-6, DOI: 10.11306/jsmst.25.21 _in Japanese

• Blair Thornton, Tetsuo Sakka, Tomoko Takahashi, Ayaka Tamura, Tatsuya Masamura, Ayumu Matsumoto, Spectroscopic Measurements of Solids Immersed in Water at High Pressure Using a Long Duration Nano Second Laser Pulse, Appl. Phys. Express 6 (2013) 082401, DOI: 10.7567/APEX.6.082401

• Blair Thornton, Seiki Ohnishi, Tamaki Ura, Shun Sasaki, Naoteru Odano, Tsuneo Fujita, Continuous Measurement of Radionuclide Distribution Off Fukushima Using a Towed Sea-Bed Gamma Ray Spectrometer, Deep-Sea Research I 79 (2013) 10–19, DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2013.05.001

• Tomoko Takahashi, Blair Thornton, Tamaki Ura, Investigation of Double-Pulse Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for Analysis of the Composition of Solids Submerged at High Pressures, Appl. Phys. Express 6 (2013) 042403, DOI: 10.7567/APEX.6.042403

• Blair Thornton, Akira Asada, Adrian Bodenmann, Mehul Sangekar, Tamaki Ura, Instruments and Methods for Acoustic and Visual, Survey of Manganese Crusts, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 38 ( 2013) 186-203, DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2012.2218892

Before 2012

• Blair Thornton , Tomoko Takahashi, Tamaki Ura, Tetsuo Sakka, Cavity Formation and Material Ablation for Single-Pulse Laser-Ablated Solids Immersed in Water at High Pressure, Appl. Phys. Express 5 (2012) 102402, DOI: 10.1143/APEX.5.102402

• Adrian Bodenmann, Blair Thornton, Tamaki Ura, 3D Mapping of the Seafloor with Automated Data Analysis: 3D Color Reconstructions For Quantitative Algorithm-Based Analysis, Laser Profiling To Generate Colored 3D Reconstructions of the Seafloor, Sea technology 53 (2012) 41-46,

• Blair Thornton , Tamaki Ura, Effects of Pressure on the Optical Emissions Observed from Solids Immersed in Water Using a Single Pulse Laser, Appl. Phys. Express 4 (2011) 022702, DOI: 10.1143/APEX.4.022702

• Adrian Bodenmann, Blair Thornton , Tamaki Ura, 3D Mapping of the Seafloor in Color Using a Single Camera: Benthic Mapping Based on Video Recordings, Laser Profiling To Generate Colored 3D Reconstructions of the Seafloor, Sea technology 51 (2010) 51-53

• Sulin Tang, Tamaki Ura, Takeshi Nakatani, Blair Thornton , Jiang Tao, Estimation of the hydrodynamic coefficiencts of the complex-shaped autonomous underwater vehicle TUNA-SAND, Journal of Marine Science , Technology, 14(3) (2009) 373-386, DOI: 10.1007/s00773-009-0055-4

• Blair Thornton, Tamaki Ura, Yoshiaki Nose , Stephen Turnock, Zero-G Class Underwater Robots: Unrestricted Attitude Control using Control Moment Gyros, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 32 (2007) 565-583, DOI: 10.1109/JOE.2007.899274