Dr Thomas Jordan

Earth Observation Scientist: Ocean Optics

tjor@pml.ac.uk | +44 (0)1752 633100 (switchboard)

"Knowledge of ocean optics – the study of how light interacts with water and its constituent particles – is critical for the remote sensing of aquatic ecosystems. I enjoy working in this area at PML as it incorporates both experimental and theoretical concepts from physics, whilst providing societal benefit through monitoring of water quality. "

Tom Jordan in an applied physicist with 15 years research experience spanning ocean optics, radar geophysics, and optical materials science. In his current role at PML, he specialises in above-water radiometry (measurement, modelling, and interpretation of water colour) and inherent optical properties (measurement, modelling and interpretation of light scattering and absorption in water). Areas of current interest include uncertainty characterisation in above-water radiometry, development of low-cost smartphone spectral-polarimeters for water quality monitoring, and relationships between phytoplankton pigments and inherent optical properties. He also manages the dry optics laboratory.

Prior to his current role, he held a Marie Curie research fellowship at Bristol University (UK) and Stanford (USA) where he developed new radar measurement techniques to characterise subglacial environments in Greenland and Antarctica. His PhD, at University of Bristol, focused on optical characterisation of polarizing photonic structures in marine animals. He enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of science, with past collaborations including digital terrain mapping, sensory ecology, ice-sheet modelling, and in-ice neutrino experiments.

As of June 2024, he has authored > 30 publications (14 as lead author), with > 1600 citations to date.

Key Projects

Selected Publications

Jordan, T.M., Partridge, J.C. & Roberts, N.W. 2012. Non-polarizing broadband multilayer reflectors in fish, Nature Photonics, 6, 11, 759-763. doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2012.260.
Jordan, T. M. , Williams, C. N., Schroeder, D. M., Martos, Y. M., Cooper, M. A., Siegert, M. J., Paden, J. D., Huybrechts, P., and Bamber, J. L. 2018. A constraint upon the basal water distribution and thermal state of the Greenland Ice Sheet from radar bed echoes, The Cryosphere, 12, 2831–2854. doi: 10.5194/tc-12-2831-2018.
Jordan, T.M. , Schroeder D.M., Castelletti, D., Li, J. Dall, J. 2019. A polarimetric coherence method to determine ice crystal orientation fabric from radar sounding: application to the NEEM ice core region, IEEE Transactions of Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 57, 11, 8641-8656. doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2019.2921980.

Recent Publications

Zhang, Y, Sun, J, Shen, X, Lal Chandani, V, Du, M, Song, C, Dai, Y, Hu, G, Yang, M, Tilstone, GH, Jordan, TM, Dall’Olmo, G, Liu, Q, Nemitz, E, Callaghan, A, Brean, J, Sommariva, R, Beddows, D, Langford, B, Bloss, W, Acton, W, Harrison, R, Dall’Osto, M and Shi, Z 2024 Measurements of particulate methanesulfonic acid above the remote Arctic Ocean using a high resolution aerosol mass spectrometer. Atmospheric Environment, 331. 120538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2024.120538
Jordan, TM, Simis, SGH, Selmes, N, Sent, G, Ienna, F and Martinez-Vicente, V 2023 Spatial structure of in situ reflectance in coastal and inland waters: implications for satellite validation. Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2023.1249521
Lehmann, MK, Gurlin, D, Pahlevan, N, Alikas, K, Anstee, J, Balasubramanian, SV, Barbosa, CCF, Binding, CE, Bracher, A, Bresciani, M, Burtner, A, Cao, Z, Dekker, AG, Di Vittorio, C, Drayson, N, Errera, RM, Fernandez, V, Ficek, D, Fichot, CG, Gege, P, Giardino, C, Gitelson, AA, Greb, SR., Henderson, H, Higa, H, Rahaghi, AI, Jamet, C, Jiang, D, Jordan, TM, Kangro, K, Kravitz, JA, Kristoffersen, AS, Kudela, R, Li, L, Ligi, M, Loisel, H, Lohrenz, S, Ma, R, Maciel, DA, Malthus, TJ, Matsushita, B, Matthews, MW, Minaudo, C, Mishra, DR, Mishra, S, Moore, T, Moses, WJ, Nguyễn, H, Novo, EMLM, Novoa, S, Odermatt, D, O’Donnell, DM, Olmanson, LG, Ondrusek, M, Oppelt, N, Ouillon, S, Pereira Filho, W, Plattner, S, Verdu, AR, Salem, SI, Schalles, JF, Simis, SGH, Siswanto, E, Smith, B, Somlai-Schweiger, I, Soppa, MA, Spyrakos, E, Tessin, E, Van der Woerd, HJ, Vander Woude, A, Vandermeulen, RA, Vantrepotte, V, Wernand, M, Werther, M, Young, K and Yue, L 2023 GLORIA – A globally representative hyperspectral in situ dataset for optical sensing of water quality. Scientific Data, 10 (1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-01973-y
Jordan, TM, Martin, C, Brisbourne, AM, Schroeder, DM and Smith, AM 2022 Radar Characterization of Ice Crystal Orientation Fabric and Anisotropic Viscosity Within an Antarctic Ice Stream. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 127 (6). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JF006673
Jordan, TM, Simis, SGH, Grötsch, PMM and Wood, J 2022 Incorporating a Hyperspectral Direct-Diffuse Pyranometer in an Above-Water Reflectance Algorithm. Remote Sensing, 14 (10). 2491. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14102491
Chu, W, Hilger, AM, Culberg, R, Schroeder, DM, Jordan, TM, Seroussi, H, Young, DA, Blankenship, DD and Vaughan, DG 2021 Multisystem Synthesis of Radar Sounding Observations of the Amundsen Sea Sector From the 2004–2005 Field Season. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 126 (10). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JF006296
Bessette, JT, Schroeder, DM, Jordan, TM and MacGregor, JA 2021 Radar‐Sounding Characterization of the Subglacial Groundwater Table Beneath Hiawatha Glacier, Greenland. Geophysical Research Letters, 48 (10). 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091432
Young, TJ, Schroeder, DM, Jordan, TM, Christoffersen, P, Tulaczyk, SM, Culberg, R and Bienert, NL 2021 Inferring ice fabric from birefringence loss in airborne radargrams: Application to the eastern shear margin of Thwaites Glacier, West Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JF006023