EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Remote Sensing, University of Technology Sydney, Australia, 2020
Thesis title: Analyses of canopy photosynthesis derived from three-dimensional model simulations of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence.
Supervisor: Distinguished Professor Alfredo Huete
M.Sc. in Computer Science and Application, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, 2014
Supervisor: Professor Zhongliang Fu
B.E. in Computer Science and Technology, Fujian Normal University, China, 2011
RESEARCH INTEREST
I am a remote sensing researcher specializing in ecohydrological analysis, with a focus on understanding the complex interactions between vegetation dynamics and hydrological processes.
PROFESSIONAL STRENGTHS
Skills: Strong programming skills, machine learning, GIS spatial analysis, big data processing, time series analysis, deep understanding and modelling vegetation evapotranspiration and fluorescence, Linux and Mac OS, and scientific writing.
Tools: Google Earth Engine, R, Python, GDAL, QGIS, spectrometer, sap flow sensor, porometer, drone.
Data: Significant experience in processing remote sensing data, including multispectral/radar satellite, LiDAR, drone imagery and meteorological datasets.
Languages: English in professional working proficiency (IELTS 7 scores), native proficiency is Mandarin
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Research Scientist, CSIRO
- Spatial Ecological Modeller, 2023 - present
- Research Fellow, University of Canberra and CSIRO
- 2020 - 2023
- Research Assistant, Northwestern University of Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology
- 2019 - 2020
- Data Scientist, SHUDOU Technology Co., Ltd.
- May - July, 2016
- Software Engineer, HUAWEI Technologies Co., Ltd.
- 2014 - 2016
FUNDING, SCHOLARSHIP and AWARD
Funding
- Application of CSIRO evapotranspiration calibration technique to the Lower Limestone Coast plantation forestry region in South Australia.
- Department for Environment and Water, SA. AUD $50,000, 2022.
Scholarships
- UTS International Research Scholarship
- University of Technology Sydney, Australia. AUD $120,000, 2016-2019.
- UTS President’s Scholarship
- University of Technology Sydney, Australia. AUD $56,488, 2016-2019.
- Top student scholarship in China universities (2x)
Awards
- Provincial excellence student
- Selected by Fujian province, China, 2008
- Excellent student in Fuzhou City
- Selected by Fuzhou city, China, 2008
- National Olympiad in Informatics
- The second prize, China, 2004
PUBLICATIONS
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Doody, T. M., Gao, S., Z. Xie, A. P. O’Grady, and R. G. Benyon. 2025. Advancing a Hydrological Model to Quantify Groundwater Discharge of Forest Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems. Hydrological Processes 39, no. 7: e70203. |
| Liang Y., Cao C., Zhu X, Gao S., Zhang Y., Ma X. 2025. Unveiling hidden dynamics: fine-scale mapping of groundwater-dependent ecosystems using multi-source Earth observations. International Journal of Digital Earth, 18(1), 2528636. | |
| Liu, K., Cao, C., Gao, S., Yang, W. and Ma, X., Bridging satellite productivity and global biodiversity: Unveiling insights through dynamic habitat indices. Journal of Remote Sensing. 2025;5:0624. | |
| Gao, S., Nagler, P.L., Woodgate, W., Huete, A. and Doody, T.M., 2025. Advancing broad scale spatial evapotranspiration modelling by incorporating sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Journal of Hydrology, p.133404. | |
| Yan, K., Gao, S., Yan, G., Ma, X., Chen, X., Zhu, P., Li, J., Gao, S., Gastellu-Etchegorry, J.P., Myneni, R.B. and Wang, Q., 2025. A global systematic review of the remote sensing vegetation indices. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 139, p.104560 | |
| Gao, S. and Doody, T.M. (2025). Evaluating the relationship between sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence and transpiration in sparse Australian floodplain woodlands using sap flow measurements. Acta Hortic. 1419, 153-160 | |
| Xue, J., Huete, A., Liu, Z., Gao, S. and Lu, X., 2025. A lightweight SIF-based crop yield estimation model: A case study of Australian wheat. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 364, p.110439. | |
| 2024 | Castellazzi, P., Gao, S., Pritchard, J., Ponce-Reyes, R., Stratford, D., & Crosbie, R. (2024). Detecting springs and groundwater-dependent vegetation in data-scarce regions of Australia combining citizen science, GRACE, and optical/radar imagery. Remote Sensing of Environment, 313, 114345. |
| Gao, S., Woodgate, W., Ma, X. and Doody, T.M., 2024. Prediction of Open Woodland Transpiration Incorporating Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Vegetation Structure. Remote Sensing, 16(1), p.143. Impact Factor 5.0 | |
| Doody, T.M., McInerney, P.J., Thoms, M.C. and Gao, S., 2024. Resilience and adaptive cycles in water-dependent ecosytems: Can panarchy explain trajectories of change among floodplain trees?. In Resilience and Riverine Landscapes (pp. 97-115). Elsevier. | |
| 2023 | Gao, S., Zhong, R., Yan, K., Ma, X., Chen, X., Pu, J., Gao, S., Qi, J., Yin, G. and Myneni, R.B., 2023. Evaluating the saturation effect of vegetation indices in forests using 3D radiative transfer simulations and satellite observations. Remote Sensing of Environment, 295, p.113665. Impact Factor 13.5 |
| Doody, T.M., Gao, S., Vervoort, W., Pritchard, J., Davies, M., Nolan, M. and Nagler, P.L., 2023. A river basin spatial model to quantitively advance understanding of riverine tree response dynamics to water availability and hydrological management. Journal of Environmental Management, 332, p.117393. Impact Factor 8.7 | |
| Doody, T.M., Benyon, R.G. and Gao, S., 2023. Fine scale 20‐year timeseries of plantation forest evapotranspiration for the lower limestone coast. Hydrological Processes, 37(3), p.e14836. Impact Factor 3.565 | |
| 2022 | Gao, S., Huete, A., Kobayashi, H., Doody, T.M., Liu, W., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y. and Lu, X., 2022. Simulation of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence in a heterogeneous forest using 3-D radiative transfer modelling and airborne LiDAR. ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 191, pp.1-17. Impact Factor 11.774 |
| Pinagé, E.R., Bell, D.M., Longo, M., Gao, S., Keller, M., Silva, C.A., Ometto, J.P., Köhler, P., Frankenberg, C. and Huete, A., 2022. Forest structure and solar-induced fluorescence across intact and degraded forests in the Amazon. Remote Sensing of Environment, 274, p.112998. Impact Factor 13.5 | |
| Yu, P., Shi, Y., Li, J., Zhang, X., Deng, Y., Du, M., Fan, S., Cai, C., Han, Y., Li, Z. and Gao, S., 2022. Soil Property, Rather than Climate, Controls Subsoil Carbon Turnover Time in Forest Ecosystems across China. Forests, 13(12), p.2061. Impact Factor 3.282 | |
| Leng, S., Huete, A., Cleverly, J., Lu, X., Ma, X., Gao, S. and Yu, Q., 2022. Response of dryland vegetation under extreme wet events with satellite measures of greenness and fluorescence. Science of the Total Environment, 842, p.156860. Impact Factor 10.753 | |
| Leng, S., Huete, A., Cleverly, J., Gao, S., Yu, Q., Meng, X., Qi, J., Zhang, R. and Wang, Q., 2022. Assessing the Impact of Extreme Droughts on Dryland Vegetation by Multi-Satellite Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence. Remote Sensing, 14(7), p.1581. Impact Factor 4.848 | |
| 2021 | Gao, S., Castellazzi, P., Vervoort, RW., Doody, TM. Fine scale mapping of fractional tree canopy cover to support river basin management. Hydrological Processes. 2021; 35:e14156. Impact Factor 3.565 |
| Tang, X., Shi, Y., Luo, X., Liu, L., Jian, J., Bond-Lamberty, B., Hao, D., Olchev, A., Zhang, W., Gao, S. and Li, J., 2021. A decreasing carbon allocation to belowground autotrophic respiration in global forest ecosystems. Science of The Total Environment, 798, p.149273. Impact Factor 7.963 | |
| 2020 | Tang, X., Fan, S., Du, M., Zhang, W., Gao, S., Liu, S., Chen, G., Yu, Z., Yao, Y. and Yang, W., Spatial-and temporal-pattern of global soil heterotrophic respiration in terrestrial ecosystems, Earth Syst. Sci. Data. 2020; 12(2):1037. Impact Factor 11.333 |
| Ma, X, Huete, A, Tran, NN, Bi, J, Gao, S., Zeng Y. Sun-Angle Effects on Remote-Sensing Phenology Observed and Modelled Using Himawari-8. Remote Sensing. 2020; 12(8):1339. Impact Factor 4.848 | |
| 2019 | Tang, X., Fan, S., Zhang, W., Gao, S., Chen, G., and Shi, L.: Global variability of belowground autotrophic respiration in terrestrial ecosystems, Earth Syst. Sci. Data. 2019. Impact Factor 11.333 |
| 2018 | Wu, J., Kobayashi, H., Stark, S.C., Meng, R., Guan, K., Tran, N.N., Gao, S., Yang, W., Restrepo‐Coupe, N., Miura, T. and Oliviera, R.C. Biological processes dominate seasonality of remotely sensed canopy greenness in an Amazon evergreen forest. New Phytologist, 217(4), pp.1507-1520. Impact Factor 10.151 |
| 2016 | Ji, X., Gao, S., Huang, G., Fu, Z., “Left Ventricle Segmentation in Transesophageal Echocardiography Based on Centripetal Catmull-Rom Curve,” Journal of Sichuan University (Engineering Science Edition), vol. 48, no. 5, pp. 1-7. |
| 2015 | Chen, G., Chen, B., Gao, S., “Parallel Simulation Model for Plant Growth by Integrating Morphology and Physiology,” Computer Simulation, vol. 32, no. 8, pp. 404-408. |
| 2014 | Gao, S., Chen, G., Fu, Z., Liu, P., “A Functional-Structural Model of Virtual Plant Based on the Labeling Algorithm and the Growth State Chain,” Applied Mechanics and Materials, vol. 2014, pp. 2075-2083. |
| 2013 | Gao, S., Chen, G., Fu, Z., “Virtual Plant Growth and Development Simulation Model of Young Longan,” Application of Computer, vol. 33, no. 82, pp. 220-223. |
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
As journals reviewers for reviewing ~ 100 manuscripts
RESEARCH DEVICES
- DJI Phantom 4 multispectral
- Davis weather station
- Drill & Drop soil moisture
- Phenocam
- ICT sap flow logger
- AP4 leaf porometer
- Ocean Optics USB2000 spectrometer
CERTIFICATES
- Remote Piolt License (RePL), Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate (AROC)
- Four wheel drive training, defensive driving training
- Working at heights
- First aid in remote area, Asthma awareness
- Project management
REFERENCES
References available upon request