Crystal S Thomas

Crystal S Thomas

  • 301.286.7299
  • NASA/GSFC
  • Mail Code: 616.1
  • Greenbelt , MD 20771
  • Employer: SCIENCE SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS INC
  • Brief Bio

    Crystal Thomas has over 25 years of experience conducting HPLC pigment analysis for ocean color research and researching method improvements. Thomas's research interests include method development and quality assurance/quality control, particularly as they relate to identifying and minimizing sources of uncertainty in HPLC pigment measurements. Currently, she manages the activities of GSFC’s Ocean Ecology Laboratory HPLC pigment analysis program.

    Positions/Employment

    4/2019 - Present

    Lead Scientific Analyst

    Science Systems and Applications, Inc.(SSAI), NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center

    Scientific lead on NASA contract to analyze HPLC phytoplankton pigment samples for various PIs in support of ocean color research, and research into analysis of water-soluble phytoplankton pigments (phycobilins) and advanced chromatographic techniques (LC-MS, UHPLC).

    3/2011 - 4/2019

    Research Scientist

    Science Systems and Applications, Inc., NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center

    Scientific lead on NASA contract to analyze HPLC pigment samples for various PIs in support of ocean color research

    7/2007 - 3/2011

    Senior Faculty Research Assistant

    University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, Cambridge, MD Manage HPLC Analytical Services laboratory
    Train and supervise laboratory technicians
    Develop and execute a rigorous quality assurance/quality control system

    9/1997 - 6/2007

    Faculty Research Assistant

    University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory , Cambridge, MD Analyze, interpret and quantify HPLC pigment and nutrient data
    Develop pigment isolation techniques for creation of standards
    Research to improve agreement among laboratories performing the same chemical measurements
    Maintain quality assurance/quality control records

    Teaching Experience

    Classroom and laboratory instructor for short course, Phytoplankton Bio-Optical Variability in Coastal Systems. Taught students how to establish and maintain an HPLC pigment analysis laboratory, with emphasis on Quality Assurance/Quality Control. Sponsored by NF-POGO (Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans) and AWI-CofE (Alfred-Wegener Institute Center for Excellence), 19-23 January, 2015, Ensendada, Mexico 

    Awards

    Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences (HOBI) Award for Scientific/Technical Support (2015)

    Selected Publications

    Refereed

    Neeley, A. R., M. W. Lomas, A. Mannino, C. Thomas, and R. Vandermeulen. 2022. "Impact of growth phase, pigment adaptation and climate change conditions on the cellular pigment and carbon content of fifty‐one phytoplankton isolates." Journal of Phycology, [10.1111/jpy.13279]

    Valente, A., S. Sathyendranath, V. Brotas, et al. S. Groom, M. Grant, T. Jackson, A. Chuprin, M. Taberner, R. Airs, D. Antoine, R. Arnone, W. M. Balch, K. Barker, R. Barlow, S. Bélanger, J.-F. Berthon, Ş. Beşiktepe, Y. Borsheim, A. Bracher, V. Brando, R. J. Brewin, E. Canuti, F. P. Chavez, A. Cianca, H. Claustre, L. Clementson, R. Crout, A. Ferreira, S. Freeman, R. Frouin, C. García-Soto, S. W. Gibb, R. Goericke, R. Gould, N. Guillocheau, S. B. Hooker, C. Hu, M. Kahru, M. Kampel, H. Klein, S. Kratzer, R. Kudela, J. Ledesma, S. Lohrenz, H. Loisel, A. Mannino, V. Martinez-Vicente, P. Matrai, D. McKee, B. G. Mitchell, T. Moisan, E. Montes, F. Muller-Karger, A. Neeley, M. Novak, L. O'Dowd, M. Ondrusek, T. Platt, A. J. Poulton, M. Repecaud, R. Röttgers, T. Schroeder, T. Smyth, D. Smythe-Wright, H. M. Sosik, C. Thomas, R. Thomas, G. Tilstone, A. Tracana, M. Twardowski, V. Vellucci, K. Voss, J. Werdell, M. Wernand, B. Wojtasiewicz, S. Wright, and G. Zibordi. 2022. "A compilation of global bio-optical in situ data for ocean-colour satellite applications – version three." Earth System Science Data, [10.5194/essd-2022-159]

    Catlett, D., D. Siegel, R. Simons, et al. N. Guillocheau, F. Henderikx-Freitas, and C. Thomas. 2021. "Diagnosing seasonal to multi-decadal phytoplankton group dynamics in a highly productive coastal ecosystem." Progress in Oceanography, 197: 102637 [10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102637]

    Sahoo, S., S. K. Baliarsingh, A. A. Lotliker, et al. U. K. Pradhan, C. S. Thomas, and K. Sahu. 2017. "Effect of physico-chemical regimes and tropical cyclones on seasonal distribution of chlorophyll-a in the Chilika Lagoon, east coast of India." Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189 (4): 153 [10.1007/s10661-017-5850-5]

    Chaves, J. E., J. Werdell, C. W. Proctor, et al. A. R. Neeley, S. A. Freeman, C. S. Thomas, and S. B. Hooker. 2015. "Assessment of ocean color data records from MODIS-Aqua in the western Arctic Ocean." Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 118 (Part A): 32-43 [10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.02.011]

    Egeland, E. J., J. Garrido, L. Clementson, et al. K. Andresen, C. S. Thomas, M. Zapata, R. Airs, C. Llewellyn, G. Newman, R. Rodriguez, and S. Roy. 2011. "Part VII: Data sheets aiding identification of phytoplankton carotenoids and chlorophylls." Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy, and Applications in Oceanography, Cambridge, New York: 665-674, ISBN: 978-1-107-00066-7. [10.1017/CBO9780511732263]

    Neeley, A. R., C. S. Thomas, S. B. Hooker, and L. Van Heukelem. 2011. "HPLC instrument performance metrics and validation." Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy, and Applications in Oceanography, New York: Cambridge University Press, 890, ISBN: 978-1-107-00066-7.

    Claustre, H., S. B. Hooker, L. Van Heukelem, et al. J.-F. Berthon, R. Barlow, J. Ras, H. Sessions, C. Targa, C. S. Thomas, D. van der Linde, and J.-C. Marty. 2004. "An intercomparison of HPLC phytoplankton pigment methods using in situ samples: application to remote sensing and database activities." Marine Chem, 85 (1-2): 41-61 [10.1016/j.marchem.2003.09.002]

    Van Heukelem, L., and C. Thomas. 2001. "Computer-assisted high-performance liquid chromatography method development with applications to the isolation and analysis of phytoplankton pigments." J. Chrom. A., 910: 31-49.

    Non-Refereed

    Chaves Cedeno, J. E., P. J. Werdell, C. W. Proctor, et al. A. R. Neeley, S. A. Freeman, C. S. Thomas, and S. B. Hooker. 2014. "Assessment of ocean color data records from MODIS-Aqua in the western Arctic Ocean." Proc. Ocean Optics XXII

    Hooker, S. B., L. Clementson, C. S. Thomas, et al. L. Schluter, M. Allerup, J. Ras, H. Claustre, C. Normandeau, J. Cullen, M. Kienast, W. Kozlowski, M. Vernet, S. Chakraborty, S. Lohrenz, M. Tuel, D. Redalje, P. Cartaxana, C. R. Mendes, V. Brotas, S. G. Matondkar, S. G. Parab, A. R. Neeley, and E. S. Egeland. 2012. "The Fifth SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-5)." NASA Technical Memo. 2012-217503 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 98.

    Hooker, S. B., C. S. Thomas, L. Van Heukelem, et al. L. Schluter, M. E. Russ, J. Ras, H. Claustre, L. Clementson, E. Canuti, J.-F. Berthon, J. Perl, C. Normandeau, J. Cullen, M. Kienast, and J. L. Pinckney. 2010. "The Fourth SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-4)." NASA Technical Memo 2010-215857 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 75.

    Hooker, S. B., L. Van Heukelem, C. S. Thomas, et al. H. Claustre, J. Ras, L. Schluter, L. Clementson, D. van der Linde, E. Eker-Develi, J.-F. Berthon, R. Barlow, H. Sessions, H. Ismail, and J. Perl. 2009. "The Third SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-3)." NASA Technical Memo 2009-215849 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 97.

    Hooker, S. B., V. Stuart, C. Trees, et al. J. Perl, L. Schlter, L. V. Heukelem, C. S. Thomas, R. Barlow, J. Ras, H. Claustre, H. Sessions, E. Head, L. Clementson, J. Fishwick, C. Llewellyn, and J. Aiken. 2005. "The Second SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-2)." NASA Tech Memo 2005-212785 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 112 pp.

    Talks, Presentations and Posters

    Invited

    Classroom and laboratory instructor for short course - Phytoplankton bio-optical variability:
    application to the study of coastal systems.

    1 / 2015

    part of a short course, Phytoplankton Bio-Optical Variability in Coastal Systems, taught students how to establish and maintain an HPLC pigment analysis laboratory, with emphasis on Quality Assurance/Quality Control, sponsored by NF-POGO (Nippon Foundation-Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans) and AWI-CofE (Alfred-Wegener Institute Center for Excellence), 19-23 January, 2015, Ensendada, Mexico

    Pigment Analysis: Sample Collection and Measurement Techniques

    10 / 21 / 2013

    NANO (NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans) meeting, Fundaction la Salle, Venezuela

    Components of High-Quality HPLC Measurements

    10 / 22 / 2013

    NANO (NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans) meeting, Fundaction la Salle, Venezuela

    HPLC Methods and Intercomparison

    10 / 22 / 2013

    NANO (NF-POGO Alumni Network for Oceans) meeting, Fundaction la Salle, Venezuela

    Other

    Thomas, C., J. Chaves, A. Mannino (2018), Global variability of phytoplankton photosynthetic pigments determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): a precision assessment of the dataset analyzed by NASA, Abstract OD34A-2752, presented at 2018 Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, OR, 12-16 Feb.

    2 / 14 / 2018

    Brief Bio

    Crystal Thomas has over 25 years of experience conducting HPLC pigment analysis for ocean color research and researching method improvements. Thomas's research interests include method development and quality assurance/quality control, particularly as they relate to identifying and minimizing sources of uncertainty in HPLC pigment measurements. Currently, she manages the activities of GSFC’s Ocean Ecology Laboratory HPLC pigment analysis program.

    Selected Publications

    Refereed

    Neeley, A. R., M. W. Lomas, A. Mannino, C. Thomas, and R. Vandermeulen. 2022. "Impact of growth phase, pigment adaptation and climate change conditions on the cellular pigment and carbon content of fifty‐one phytoplankton isolates." Journal of Phycology [10.1111/jpy.13279]

    Valente, A., S. Sathyendranath, V. Brotas, et al. S. Groom, M. Grant, T. Jackson, A. Chuprin, M. Taberner, R. Airs, D. Antoine, R. Arnone, W. M. Balch, K. Barker, R. Barlow, S. Bélanger, J.-F. Berthon, Ş. Beşiktepe, Y. Borsheim, A. Bracher, V. Brando, R. J. Brewin, E. Canuti, F. P. Chavez, A. Cianca, H. Claustre, L. Clementson, R. Crout, A. Ferreira, S. Freeman, R. Frouin, C. García-Soto, S. W. Gibb, R. Goericke, R. Gould, N. Guillocheau, S. B. Hooker, C. Hu, M. Kahru, M. Kampel, H. Klein, S. Kratzer, R. Kudela, J. Ledesma, S. Lohrenz, H. Loisel, A. Mannino, V. Martinez-Vicente, P. Matrai, D. McKee, B. G. Mitchell, T. Moisan, E. Montes, F. Muller-Karger, A. Neeley, M. Novak, L. O'Dowd, M. Ondrusek, T. Platt, A. J. Poulton, M. Repecaud, R. Röttgers, T. Schroeder, T. Smyth, D. Smythe-Wright, H. M. Sosik, C. Thomas, R. Thomas, G. Tilstone, A. Tracana, M. Twardowski, V. Vellucci, K. Voss, J. Werdell, M. Wernand, B. Wojtasiewicz, S. Wright, and G. Zibordi. 2022. "A compilation of global bio-optical in situ data for ocean-colour satellite applications – version three." Earth System Science Data [10.5194/essd-2022-159]

    Catlett, D., D. Siegel, R. Simons, et al. N. Guillocheau, F. Henderikx-Freitas, and C. Thomas. 2021. "Diagnosing seasonal to multi-decadal phytoplankton group dynamics in a highly productive coastal ecosystem." Progress in Oceanography 197 102637 [10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102637]

    Sahoo, S., S. K. Baliarsingh, A. A. Lotliker, et al. U. K. Pradhan, C. S. Thomas, and K. Sahu. 2017. "Effect of physico-chemical regimes and tropical cyclones on seasonal distribution of chlorophyll-a in the Chilika Lagoon, east coast of India." Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 189 (4): 153 [10.1007/s10661-017-5850-5]

    Chaves, J. E., J. Werdell, C. W. Proctor, et al. A. R. Neeley, S. A. Freeman, C. S. Thomas, and S. B. Hooker. 2015. "Assessment of ocean color data records from MODIS-Aqua in the western Arctic Ocean." Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography 118 (Part A): 32-43 [10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.02.011]

    Egeland, E. J., J. Garrido, L. Clementson, et al. K. Andresen, C. S. Thomas, M. Zapata, R. Airs, C. Llewellyn, G. Newman, R. Rodriguez, and S. Roy. 2011. "Part VII: Data sheets aiding identification of phytoplankton carotenoids and chlorophylls." Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy, and Applications in Oceanography 665-674 [10.1017/CBO9780511732263]

    Neeley, A. R., C. S. Thomas, S. B. Hooker, and L. Van Heukelem. 2011. "HPLC instrument performance metrics and validation." Phytoplankton Pigments: Characterization, Chemotaxonomy, and Applications in Oceanography 890

    Claustre, H., S. B. Hooker, L. Van Heukelem, et al. J.-F. Berthon, R. Barlow, J. Ras, H. Sessions, C. Targa, C. S. Thomas, D. van der Linde, and J.-C. Marty. 2004. "An intercomparison of HPLC phytoplankton pigment methods using in situ samples: application to remote sensing and database activities." Marine Chem 85 (1-2): 41-61 [10.1016/j.marchem.2003.09.002]

    Van Heukelem, L., and C. Thomas. 2001. "Computer-assisted high-performance liquid chromatography method development with applications to the isolation and analysis of phytoplankton pigments." J. Chrom. A. 910 31-49

    Non-Refereed

    Chaves Cedeno, J. E., P. J. Werdell, C. W. Proctor, et al. A. R. Neeley, S. A. Freeman, C. S. Thomas, and S. B. Hooker. 2014. "Assessment of ocean color data records from MODIS-Aqua in the western Arctic Ocean." Proc. Ocean Optics XXII

    Hooker, S. B., L. Clementson, C. S. Thomas, et al. L. Schluter, M. Allerup, J. Ras, H. Claustre, C. Normandeau, J. Cullen, M. Kienast, W. Kozlowski, M. Vernet, S. Chakraborty, S. Lohrenz, M. Tuel, D. Redalje, P. Cartaxana, C. R. Mendes, V. Brotas, S. G. Matondkar, S. G. Parab, A. R. Neeley, and E. S. Egeland. 2012. "The Fifth SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-5)." NASA Technical Memo. 2012-217503 98

    Hooker, S. B., C. S. Thomas, L. Van Heukelem, et al. L. Schluter, M. E. Russ, J. Ras, H. Claustre, L. Clementson, E. Canuti, J.-F. Berthon, J. Perl, C. Normandeau, J. Cullen, M. Kienast, and J. L. Pinckney. 2010. "The Fourth SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-4)." NASA Technical Memo 2010-215857 75

    Hooker, S. B., L. Van Heukelem, C. S. Thomas, et al. H. Claustre, J. Ras, L. Schluter, L. Clementson, D. van der Linde, E. Eker-Develi, J.-F. Berthon, R. Barlow, H. Sessions, H. Ismail, and J. Perl. 2009. "The Third SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-3)." NASA Technical Memo 2009-215849 97

    Hooker, S. B., V. Stuart, C. Trees, et al. J. Perl, L. Schlter, L. V. Heukelem, C. S. Thomas, R. Barlow, J. Ras, H. Claustre, H. Sessions, E. Head, L. Clementson, J. Fishwick, C. Llewellyn, and J. Aiken. 2005. "The Second SeaWiFS HPLC Analysis Round-Robin Experiment (SeaHARRE-2)." NASA Tech Memo 2005-212785 112 pp

                                                                                                                                                                                            
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