Joel Thornton
@atmostaj.bsky.social
Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Science at the University of Washington. I study the natural and perturbed chemistry and composition of the atmosphere and how it interacts with weather and climate. But, I like other things too. Opinions my own, etc.
Just doing some Chemical Ionization research with Google AI - I'm learning a lot!
September 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Just doing some Chemical Ionization research with Google AI - I'm learning a lot!
Today has taken a turn. A river of smoke from BC through WA
September 5, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Today has taken a turn. A river of smoke from BC through WA
More measuring while biking (funded by Beckman Foundation): air pollution measuring, mass spectrometry development, & e-bikes
w/Tofwerk @uwchemistry.bsky.social @uwengineering.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social
goes back to a dream I had as grad student (in which the bike was always stolen) 🧪
w/Tofwerk @uwchemistry.bsky.social @uwengineering.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social
goes back to a dream I had as grad student (in which the bike was always stolen) 🧪
September 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
More measuring while biking (funded by Beckman Foundation): air pollution measuring, mass spectrometry development, & e-bikes
w/Tofwerk @uwchemistry.bsky.social @uwengineering.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social
goes back to a dream I had as grad student (in which the bike was always stolen) 🧪
w/Tofwerk @uwchemistry.bsky.social @uwengineering.bsky.social @uwenvironment.bsky.social
goes back to a dream I had as grad student (in which the bike was always stolen) 🧪
One door way opens, another has a deer in the way. #fridayharbor
July 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
One door way opens, another has a deer in the way. #fridayharbor
Thornton group outing for a Tianyi send off. Missing two Chris's...
July 24, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Thornton group outing for a Tianyi send off. Missing two Chris's...
Summertime. It's the small things in life. Specifically, the small strawberries, not the big strawberries, those are terrible.
June 21, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Summertime. It's the small things in life. Specifically, the small strawberries, not the big strawberries, those are terrible.
Congratulations to Phil Rund who successfully defended his PhD yesterday. Phil has made some pretty cool measurements of a suite of reactive Bromine species in the MBL - ppq detection limits for some, first-ever obs for others, etc. Stay tuned!
June 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Congratulations to Phil Rund who successfully defended his PhD yesterday. Phil has made some pretty cool measurements of a suite of reactive Bromine species in the MBL - ppq detection limits for some, first-ever obs for others, etc. Stay tuned!
"We need to look beyond the next 4 years..."
June 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM
"We need to look beyond the next 4 years..."
Checking for VOC's on our walk
May 27, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Checking for VOC's on our walk
This hits rather close to home. The issue has created a father-son clash. He used his summer employment earnings to buy a 1968 Plymouth Valiant. I told him he is responsible for 90% of the annual NOx emissions in our neighborhood even though he doesn't drive it during the school year. He shrugged.
May 23, 2025 at 12:09 AM
This hits rather close to home. The issue has created a father-son clash. He used his summer employment earnings to buy a 1968 Plymouth Valiant. I told him he is responsible for 90% of the annual NOx emissions in our neighborhood even though he doesn't drive it during the school year. He shrugged.
Kids, back in the old days, we used to do science so hard we would actually sweat.
Ezra Wood (left) and me (photo could have been taken yesterday obv) during the TexAQS 2000 campaign in La Porte, TX with the UC Berkeley TD-LIF.
Photo by Dwayne Heard (Leeds)!
Ezra Wood (left) and me (photo could have been taken yesterday obv) during the TexAQS 2000 campaign in La Porte, TX with the UC Berkeley TD-LIF.
Photo by Dwayne Heard (Leeds)!
May 13, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Kids, back in the old days, we used to do science so hard we would actually sweat.
Ezra Wood (left) and me (photo could have been taken yesterday obv) during the TexAQS 2000 campaign in La Porte, TX with the UC Berkeley TD-LIF.
Photo by Dwayne Heard (Leeds)!
Ezra Wood (left) and me (photo could have been taken yesterday obv) during the TexAQS 2000 campaign in La Porte, TX with the UC Berkeley TD-LIF.
Photo by Dwayne Heard (Leeds)!
In the Seattle outdoor odor regime, it is mostly biofuel combustion
May 3, 2025 at 7:38 PM
In the Seattle outdoor odor regime, it is mostly biofuel combustion
Working out my smuggling runs - I've taken some sailing lessons, should be fine
April 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Working out my smuggling runs - I've taken some sailing lessons, should be fine
There is currently nothing to stop cars from driving through them and they do all the time!
photo from @gordonofseattle.bsky.social
photo from @gordonofseattle.bsky.social
April 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
There is currently nothing to stop cars from driving through them and they do all the time!
photo from @gordonofseattle.bsky.social
photo from @gordonofseattle.bsky.social
For example - see all those people walking about
photo from @theurbanist.org
photo from @theurbanist.org
April 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
For example - see all those people walking about
photo from @theurbanist.org
photo from @theurbanist.org
April 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
I made this for my 16 year old son
March 24, 2025 at 3:41 AM
I made this for my 16 year old son
Looks like NYT Connections picked up on our recent paper about lightning over shipping lanes near the Strait of Malacca and Bay of Bengal acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...
March 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Looks like NYT Connections picked up on our recent paper about lightning over shipping lanes near the Strait of Malacca and Bay of Bengal acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...
When I am stressed out, someone telling me there are 20 things I can do isn't going to help
March 15, 2025 at 5:14 PM
When I am stressed out, someone telling me there are 20 things I can do isn't going to help
just taking the required training to be eligible for NSF and DOE funding in the future
March 12, 2025 at 2:37 PM
just taking the required training to be eligible for NSF and DOE funding in the future
Chris showed that the number of cloud droplets in cumulus cloud over these shipping lanes was previously enhanced (a heretofore "invisible shiptrack"), but these have also decreased sharply since 2020 like the lightning in deep convective clouds.
Chris has another paper coming on this topic
Chris has another paper coming on this topic
March 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Chris showed that the number of cloud droplets in cumulus cloud over these shipping lanes was previously enhanced (a heretofore "invisible shiptrack"), but these have also decreased sharply since 2020 like the lightning in deep convective clouds.
Chris has another paper coming on this topic
Chris has another paper coming on this topic
Using the enhancement in lightning over the world's busiest shipping lanes we previously identified: tinyurl.com/4vdsdemp Chris showed these enhancements had decreased abruptly in late 2019 / early 2020
The timing aligns w/the International Maritime Organization's regulation on sulfur emissions
The timing aligns w/the International Maritime Organization's regulation on sulfur emissions
March 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Using the enhancement in lightning over the world's busiest shipping lanes we previously identified: tinyurl.com/4vdsdemp Chris showed these enhancements had decreased abruptly in late 2019 / early 2020
The timing aligns w/the International Maritime Organization's regulation on sulfur emissions
The timing aligns w/the International Maritime Organization's regulation on sulfur emissions
Have humans increased lightning frequency through particulate matter pollution?
We address this question in a paper published today in ACP Letters, led by graduate student Chris Wright. You can read the paper here: acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...
We address this question in a paper published today in ACP Letters, led by graduate student Chris Wright. You can read the paper here: acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...
March 11, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Have humans increased lightning frequency through particulate matter pollution?
We address this question in a paper published today in ACP Letters, led by graduate student Chris Wright. You can read the paper here: acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...
We address this question in a paper published today in ACP Letters, led by graduate student Chris Wright. You can read the paper here: acp.copernicus.org/articles/25/...