Susanne Elizabeth Craig
(Scientist III)
| Email: | susanne.e.craig@nasa.gov |
| Org Code: | |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 616 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE CO |
Research Interests
Predicting phytoplankton community composition from ocean color using machine learning approaches
Earth Science: Ocean BiochemistryCurrent Projects
iESO Pilot Water Project
Remote Sensing
Positions/Employment
Senior Scientist
NASA GSFC Ocean Ecology Laboratory/USRA - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
February 2018 - Present
iESO Pilot Water Project on modeling Enterococcus occurrence in Puerto Rico beaches. PACE mission system vicarious calibration (SVC) activities. Ocean color algorithm development, radiative transfer, machine learning, phytoplankton ecology.
Mission Scientist
Canadian Space Agency - St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada
January 2017 - June 2017
Mission Scientist for the Canadian Ocean Colour Imager (COCI) Program, Canadian Space Agency.
Adjunct Professor
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University - Canada
March 2014 - March 2019
Adjunct Professor
Department of Process Engineering & Applied Science, Dalhousie University - Canada
December 2013 - December Present
Senior Research Associate
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University - Canada
November 2011 - July 2016
Federal Research Scientist
Bedford Institute of Oceanography - Canada
June 2012 - July 2014
Scientist
Bedford Institute of Oceanography - Canada
November 2011 - October 2012
Adjunct Research Associate
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University - Canada
October 2008 - October 2013
Consulting Scientist
Center for Hydro-optics & Remote Sensing (CHORS), San Diego State University - San Diego, CA
June 2007 - June 2009
Consultant Scientist for NASA funded research project, SORTIE, investigating alternative radiometric validation methods for satellite ocean color.
Research Associate
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University - Canada
October 2005 - October 2010
Research Scientist
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi - John C. Stennis Space Center, MS
October 2003 - September 2005
Investigating the use of hyperspectral radiometry to detect and assess the dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, as part of the ECOHAB project.
Research Fellow
Department of Civil Engineering, Environmental Health Research, University of Strathclyde - Glasgow, Scotland
March 2000 - September 2000
Leverhulme Trust Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Strathclyde - Glasgow, Scotland
January 2000 - March 2003
Research Scientist
Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Strathclyde - Glasgow, Scotland
July 1999 - February 2000
Research Scientist
Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory - Oban, Scotland
June 1995 - October 1995
Teaching Experience
PhD, Masters Advisor & Highly Qualified Personnel Supervision
Advisor and/or committee member for multiple PhD and MSc degrees in Oceanography and Engineering.
Unless otherwise indicated, personnel are from Dalhousie University
- Alan Wilson MASc candidate, 2014-2017 Thesis committee
- Jonathon Lemay MSc candidate, 2015-2016 Thesis committee
- Yunchen Li MASc candidate, 2016-present Co-supervisor
- Loay Jabre MASc candidate, 2014-2017 Co-supervisor
- Rio Yorke, Sean Campbell, Jad Tawill Senior year design project, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2015 Project Designer & Co-supervisor
- Haya Qadoumi MASc candidate, 2014-2016 Co-supervisor
- Alan Wilson MASc candidate, 2014-2016 Thesis committee
- Thomas Barnett MASc candidate, 2013-2016 Co-supervisor
- Alex Hayes MASc candidate, 2013-2014 Thesis committee
- Aaron Outhwaite MASc candidate, 2013-present Thesis committee
- Monika Woźniak (University of Gdansk/Stockholm University) PhD candidate, 2013-2015, Co-supervisor with Dr. Susanne Kratzer (Stockholm University)
- Michael Brown MSc candidate, 2011-2014 Co-supervisor
- Jianwei Wei PhD candidate, 2009-2013 Thesis committee
- Alison Conley BSc Honours thesis, 2012 Co-supervisor
- Jessica Wingfield Co-op student, May-Aug. 2010 Supervisor
- Alison Conley Co-op student, Jan.-Apr. 2010 Supervisor
- Alison Conley Co-op student, May-Aug. 2009 Supervisor
Graduate Level Teaching
2003 - 2005: Department of Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi, MS, USA
- M.Sc. Remote Sensing for Hydrographers, HYD 611
- M.Sc. Marine Bio-optics, MAR 701-01
Undergraduate Level Teaching
1994-1999: Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Scotland
- Undergraduate physics laboratories and tutorials, undergraduate seminar courses, student assessments
- Outreach tutor: science outreach for schools and general public for Women in Science and Engineering events and numerous science education events
Education
PhD Physics, 2000
Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Thesis: “Spectral Measurements of Absorption, Scattering and in vivo Fluorescence from Phytoplankton Cultures”.
Supervisors: Dr. Alex Cunningham (University of Strathclyde), Prof. Jim Aiken (National Centre for Earth Observation)
BSc (Hons) Physics, 1995
Department of Physics and Applied Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
Professional Service
- Chair Ocean Optics XXIII Conference 2016 Planning Committee
- (http://www.tos.org/oceanopticsconference/), 2014-2016
- Member of core writing team Core writer for successfully funded Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) award of $93.7M to establish Dalhousie’s Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), 2016
- Team member Canadian Space Agency-Naval Research Laboratory-NASA User’s Science Team on the Coastal Ocean Colour Imager (COCI) for the PACE mission, 2016
- Panelist NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Proposal Review Panel, 2016-present
- Project Scientist NASA NAAMES (North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study) Project, 2015-present
- Member NASA Scoping Study Team for Arctic-COLORS (COastal Land Ocean inteRactionS), 2014-present
- Member & Session Chair Ocean Optics XXII Conference 2014 Planning Committee, 2012-2014
- Co-chair International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) Working Group on Coastal Water Algorithm Comparison, 2014-2016
- Principal Investigator NASA Phytoplankton, Clouds and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission Science Team, 2014-2017
- Invited lecturer PhD training course on sea-truthing and bio-optical modeling, Stockholm University, Askö Laboratory, Sweden, May 2014
- Steering Committee Canadian Network on Coastal, Oceans and Lakes Optics Remote sensing (NetCOLOR), 2014-present
- Panel Member Review panel for The Oceanography Society Jerlov Award, 2014
- Proposal Reviewer NASA, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (France), National Science Foundation (NSF, USA), Belgian Science Policy (BELSPO), NSERC (Canada), NERC (UK), on going
- Scientific Advisory Board Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE): Fundy Applied Sensor Technology (FAST), 2012-present
- Member Writing team for NASA working group on remote sensing of coastal and inland waters, 2012-2014
- Member Satellite Phytoplankton Functional Type (PFT) Algorithm Intercomparison Project, 2012-present
- Member International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG) Working Group on phytoplankton functional types, 2006-2014
- Session Chair Ocean Optics XVIII Conference 2006, In Situ Optics – Session 7
- Manuscript reviewer Journal of Geophysical Research, Remote Sensing of Environment, Applied Optics, Optics Express, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, Limnology and Oceanography, Deep-Sea Research, Biogeosciences, Journal of Plankton Research, Harmful Algae, Continental Shelf Research, Journal of Marine Systems, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, Water Resources Research, Ocean Science, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters.
Grants
Phytoplancton de surface par télédétection satellitaire - Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada - Awarded: 2014-06-01
Dates: 2015-01-01 - 2016-01-01
Amount 45,000
Improved assessment of scallop stock status with remotely sensed phytoplankton community structure information - Strategic Program for Ecosystem-Based Research and Advice (SPERA) – Department of Fisheries & Oceans Canada - Awarded: 2015-10-01
Dates: 2016-01-01 - 2019-01-01
Amount 132,200
Derivation of Inherent Optical Properties from Satellite Top of Atmosphere Measurements in Optically Complex Waters
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES-2013), A.25: Pre-Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem (PACE) - NASA (NNH13ZDA001N) - Awarded: 2014-07-01
Dates: 2014-10-01 - 2017-09-30
Development of autonomous unmanned aerial platforms for remote sensing of ocean colour
Killam Predoctoral Fellowship - Killam Foundation - Awarded: 2015-02-15
Dates: -
Amount 100,000
Development of autonomous unmanned aerial platforms for remote sensing of ocean colour
Nova Scotia Graduate Entrance Scholarship - Faculty of Graduate Studies, Dalhousie University - Awarded: 2015-07-01
Dates: -
Developing Remote-sensing Indices of Trophic Availability (RITA) for ecosystem status at appropriate scales
Strategic Program for Ecosystem-Based Research and Advice (SPERA) - Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada - Awarded: 2013-08-01
Dates: -
Amount 120,000
An ocean-atmosphere supersite was established on Sable Island in the NW Atlantic to investigate the role of marine biogenic volatile organic compounds in secondary aerosol formation.
Data Display and Source Apportionment of Volatile Organic Compounds on Sable Island - Natural Resources Canada/Environmental Studies Research Fund - Awarded:
Dates: 2012-06-01 - 2017-08-31
Amount 1,000,000
Investigation into the role of phytoplankton in the uptake of atmospheric CO2.
Physical and Phytoplankton Controls of CO2 uptake on the Scotian Shelf - Canadian Foundation for Climate & Atmospheric Science - Awarded:
Dates: -
Amount 47,000
Machine Learning Approaches for Predicting Phytoplankton Community Composition from Ocean Color
ROSES-2020, Program Element A.3 Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry - NASA (NNH20ZDA001N-OBB) - Awarded: 2020-11-12
Dates: -
Coverage: 0.3
Amount $656,137
Publications
Refereed
2026. "From Standard to Bayesian: Revisiting Ocean Color Model Evaluation.", Earth and Space Science, 13 (2): e2025EA004551 [10.1029/2025ea004551] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "Advancements in Satellite Observations of Inland and Coastal Waters: Building Towards a Global Validation Network.", Remote Sensing, 17 (24): 4008 [10.3390/rs17244008] [Journal Article/Letter]
2021. "A Short Glossary of Inclusive Language.", Oceanography, 34 (2): [10.5670/oceanog.2021.207] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "150 shades of green: Using the full spectrum of remote sensing reflectance to elucidate color shifts in the ocean.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 247 111900 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111900] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Radiometric approach for the detection of picophytoplankton assemblages across oceanic fronts.", Optics Express, 28 (18): 25682 [10.1364/oe.398127] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Inversion of multiangular polarimetric measurements from the ACEPOL campaign: an application of improving aerosol property and hyperspectral ocean color retrievals.", Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 13 3939–3956 [10.5194/amt-13-3939-2020] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "A global compilation of in situ aquatic high spectral resolution inherent and apparent optical property data for remote sensing applications.", Earth System Science Data , 12 (2): 1123-1139 [10.5194/essd-12-1123-2020] [Journal Article/Letter]
2020. "Top of Atmosphere, Hyperspectral Synthetic Dataset for PACE (Phytoplankton, Aerosol, and ocean Ecosystem) Ocean Color Algorithm Development.", PANGAEA, [https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.915747] [Dataset]
2018. "An overview of approaches and challenges for retrieving marine inherent optical properties from ocean color remote sensing.", Progress in Oceanography, 160 186–212 [10.1016/j.pocean.2018.01.001] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "Blooms and subsurface phytoplankton layers on the Scotian Shelf: Insights from profiling gliders.", Journal of Marine Systems, 172 118-127 [10.1016/j.jmarsys.2017.03.007] [Journal Article/Letter]
2017. "A Novel Statistical Approach for Ocean Colour Estimation of Inherent Optical Properties and Cyanobacteria Abundance in Optically Complex Waters.", Remote Sensing, 9 (4): 343 [10.3390/rs9040343] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "Oxygen isotope measurements of seawater ( H218O/ H216O): A comparison of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS).", Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 14 (1): 31-38 [10.1002/lom3.10067] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "The effect of seasonality in phytoplankton community composition on CO 2 uptake on the Scotian Shelf.", Journal of Marine Systems, 147 52-60 [10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.07.006] [Journal Article/Letter]
2015. "Aquatic color radiometry remote sensing of coastal and inland waters: Challenges and recommendations for future satellite missions.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 160 15-30 [10.1016/j.rse.2015.02.001] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Detection of karenia brevis and Karenia mikimotoi Blooms.", Reports of the International Ocean-Colour Coordinating Group: Phytoplankton Functional Types from Space. , 15 [Report]
2014. "Curvature in models of the photosynthesis-irradiance response.", Journal of Phycology, 50 (2): 341-355 [10.1111/jpy.12164] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Metaproteomic analysis of a winter to spring succession in coastal northwest Atlantic Ocean microbial plankton.", The ISME Journal, 8 (6): 1301-1313 [10.1038/ismej.2013.234] [Journal Article/Letter]
2014. "Estimation of diffuse attenuation of ultraviolet light in optically shallow Florida Keys waters from MODIS measurements.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 140 519-532 [10.1016/j.rse.2013.09.024] [Journal Article/Letter]
2013. "Examining the links between air quality, climate change and respiratory health in Qatar.", Avicenna, (2013): 9 [10.5339/avi.2013.9] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Regional-scale effects of eutrophication on ecosystem structure and services of seagrass beds.", Limnology and Oceanography, 57 (5): 1389-1402 [10.4319/lo.2012.57.5.1389] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Direct observations of diel biological CO2 fixation on the Scotian Shelf, northwestern Atlantic Ocean.", Biogeosciences, 9 (6): 2301-2309 [10.5194/bg-9-2301-2012] [Journal Article/Letter]
2012. "Deriving optical metrics of coastal phytoplankton biomass from ocean colour.", Remote Sensing of Environment, 119 72-83 [10.1016/j.rse.2011.12.007] [Journal Article/Letter]
2010. "Air-Sea CO2 fluxes on the Scotian Shelf: seasonal to multi-annual variability.", Biogeosciences, 7 (11): 3851-3867 [10.5194/bg-7-3851-2010] [Journal Article/Letter]
2009. "Using Mass Reconstruction along a Four-Site Transect as a Method to Interpret PM10 in West-Central Scotland,United Kingdom.", Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 59 (12): 1429-1436 [10.3155/1047-3289.59.12.1429] [Journal Article/Letter]
2006. "Use of hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance for detection and assessment of the harmful alga, Karenia brevis.", Applied Optics, 45 (21): 5414 [10.1364/ao.45.005414] [Journal Article/Letter]
2003. "Fine-scale variability in phytoplankton community structure and inherent optical properties measured from an autonomous underwater vehicle.", Journal of Marine Systems, 43 (1-2): 51-59 [10.1016/s0924-7963(03)00088-5] [Journal Article/Letter]
2003. "Semi-empirical correction algorithm for AC-9 measurements in a coccolithophore bloom.", Applied Optics, 42 (21): 4369 [10.1364/ao.42.004369] [Journal Article/Letter]
2003. "Estimation of absorption and backscattering coefficients from in situ radiometric measurements: theory and validation in case II waters.", Applied Optics, 42 (15): 2804 [10.1364/ao.42.002804] [Journal Article/Letter]
. "In situ high spectral resolution inherent and apparent optical property data from diverse aquatic environments.", PANGAEA Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science, [https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.902230] [Dataset]
Non-Refereed
2024. "Life after launch: a snapshot of the first six months of NASA’s plankton, aerosol, cloud, ocean ecosystem (PACE) mission.", Sensors, Systems, and Next-Generation Satellites XXVIII, 14 [10.1117/12.3033830] [Proceedings]
2021. "US SOLAS Science Report.", , [10.1575/1912/27821] [Report]
2019. "Bayesian Models for Deriving Biogeochemical Information from Satellite Ocean Color.", Earth ArXiv, [10.31223/osf.io/shp6y] [Other]
2016. "Remote-sensing Indices of Trophic Availability (RITA) for ecosystem status.", Canadian Technical Report of Hydrography and Ocean Sciences, 3166 (xiii): 87p [Report]
Talks, Presentations and Posters
Invited
The Global Ocean from Space: Phytoplankton, Fish, and Climate
November 6, 2021
COP26: United Nations Climate Change Conference, Glasgow, UK, Invited NASA Hyperwall presentation, 31 Oct - 12 Nov 2021. https://www.youtube.com/live/GyV6B5k_QRA?feature=share
Other
Selected Public Outreach
PACE Spotlight: The ROSEy Research of PACE Scientist Susanne Craig
February 2018 - December Present
PACE blog entry
The day I… left home and joined NASA: Scots scientist Susanne Craig shares her story
August 2019 - August 2019
Interview in a Scottish Sunday Newspaper on childhood aspirations to work for NASA