Alexander Bailess

Graduate Student at Oregon State University

About

I am a researcher and teacher studying how energy propagates in the marine environment. I received a BS in Biology and Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Here I worked with the McCarthy and Kudela labs studying stable isotopes and phytoplankton. Upon graduation, I continued to study phytoplankton in the Cloern lab at U.S.G.S. and the Chavez lab at M.B.A.R.I. - where I began to study optics. Now at O.S.U., I continue to research phytoplankton-light interactions, as well as instrument development, and kelp forest ecology. If not in the lab you can catch me swimming, diving, or deep in the woods.

Alexander Bailess

Current Research

Our most recent project explored how light interacts with toxigenic phytoplankton to create a 'fingerprint' visible from remote sensing platforms. We are currently exploring how energy flows from these plankton up to fish in nearshore kelp forest habitats and making new instruments to monitor these systems.

Publications

Title: Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for Harmful Algal Bloom Detection: Pseudo-nitzschia in the Northeast Pacific (MS Thesis)

Author: Bailess, Alexander

Institution: Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences

Published Date: May 7, 2025

Committee: Maria Kavanaugh, Andrew Barnard, Mike Behrenfeld, Felipe Barreto

Title: Report for Dedicated JPSS VIIRS Ocean Color Calibration/Validation Cruise: U.S. West Coastal Ocean in March 2023

Authors: Ondrusek, Michael; Wei, Jianwei; Wang, Menghua; Stengel, Eric; Kovach, Charles; Gilerson, Alex; Goes, Joaquim I.; Hu, Chuanmin; Ladner, Sherwin; Tufillaro, Nick; Voss, Kenneth J.; Bailess, Alexander; Barnard, Andrew; Blocker, Riley; Bunson, Samuel; Cannizzaro, Jennifer; English, David; do Rosario Gomes, Helga; Herrera, Eder; Jordan, Jamon; Kavanaugh, Maria; Malinowski, Mateusz; Moretto, Wave; Sullivan, Sarah;

Institutions: Center for Satellite Applications and Research (U.S.); Global Science & Technology, Inc.; City University of New York.; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.; University of South Florida.; Naval Research Laboratory (John C. Stennis Space Center); Oregon State University.; University of Miami.;

Published Date: 2025

Series: NOAA technical report NESDIS ; 163

Title: Report for Dedicated JPSS VIIRS Ocean Color Calibration/Validation Cruise : Hawaii in March 2022

Authors: Ondrusek, Michael; Wei, Jianwei; Wang, Menghua; Stengel, Eric; Kovach, Charles; Gilerson, Alex; Herrera, Eder; Malinowski, Mateusz; Goes, Joaquim I.; Wu, Jinghui; Gomes, Helga do Rosario; Hu, Chuanmin; Cannizzaro, Jennifer; English, David; Shi, Jing; Yao, Yao; Ladner, Sherwin; Mannino, Antonio; Chaves, Joaquín E.; Farr, Declan P.; Freeman, Scott A.; Smith, Harrison D.; Tufillaro, Nick; Bailess, Alexander; Belmonte, Adam; Barnard, Andrew; Tan, Jing; Frouin, Robert;

Institutions: United States. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service.; Center for Satellite Applications and Research (U.S.); Global Science & Technology, Inc.; City University of New York. City College.; Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.; Naval Research Laboratory (John C. Stennis Space Center); University of South Florida. College of Marine Science.; Goddard Space Flight Center.; Science Systems & Applications, Inc.; United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Alaska Operations Office.; Oregon State University.; Scripps Institution of Oceanography.;

Published Date: 2024

Series: NOAA technical report NESDIS ; 160

Conference Presentations

Banks, A., Barnard, A., Haëntjens, N., Boss, E., Frouin, R., Tan, J., Spyridakis, N., Bailess, A., Chamberlain, P., Mazloff, M.

HyperNav: A Novel Use of the NAVIS Autonomous Profiling Floats for the System Vicarious Calibration of the NASA PACE Ocean Colour Instrument – Euro-Argo Science Meeting 2025

Frouin, R., Tan, J., Bailess, A., Barnard, A., Boss, E., Haëntjens, N., Banks, A., Chamberlain, P., Mazloff, M.

System Vicarious Calibration of the PACE Ocean Color Instrument – European Geosciences Union 2025

Bailess, A., Baetge, N., Bill, B., Barnard, A., Behrenfeld, M., Graff, J., George, K., Tufillaro, N., Kavanaugh, M.

Unique Hyperspectral Fingerprints of Diatoms – Ocean Optics, October 2024, Spain

Barnard, A., Boss, E., Frouin, R., Haëntjens, N., Tan, J., Craig, S., Sirk, E., Bailess, A., Chamberlain, P.

Initial Matchups from the HyperNAV Vicarious Calibration Network of Autonomously Profiling Radiometric Systems and the Ocean Color Instrument: PACE – Ocean Optics, October 2024, Spain

Bailess, A., Baetge, N., Bill, B., Barnard, A., Behrenfeld, M., Graff, J., George, K., Tufillaro, N., Kavanaugh, M.

Phytoplankton ‘Fingerprints’ – State of the Coast 2024, Seaside, OR. Oregon Sea Grant

Bailess, A., Kavanaugh, M.

Light in the Sea: Investigating Oregon’s Nearshore Plankton through Ocean Color – Hatfield Awards Ceremony 2024

Chavez, F., Messié, M., Pitz, K., Baker, J., Bailess, A.

Combining hyperspectral and eDNA measurements: looking for relations between biodiversity at multiple trophic levels and remote sensing – American Geophysical Union 2023

Bailess, A., Eddy, T., Nejad, E., Fritsch, J., Schraga, T.

A Fresh Take on Phyto: Hydrologic Variabilities’ Effect on Phytoplankton Bloom Dynamics – Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022

Eddy, T., Bailess, A., Nejad, E., Schraga, T.

Where are the Blooms? - Estuaries as hot-spots of microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling – Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022

Field Experience

VIIRS Cal/Val: R/V Nancy Foster 2024

HyperPro, open-source radiometers, and Inline system deployment, 12 days – to calibrate and validate satellite products

Northern California Current Survey: R/V Shimada 2023

Dilution experiments, Inline system operations, 18 days – to monitor nearshore commercial fish species’ recruitment success

Kelp Forest Ecology: R/V Pugettia 2023 – Present

Surveys of nearshore Oregon kelp forest, stereo video, fish/kelp/invert transects, eDNA, day trips, bimonthly

HyperNAV: F/V Graphic Slayer 2023 – Present

HyperNAV deployments, day trips, several per year – to calibrate and validate satellite products

VIIRS Cal/Val: R/V Shimada 2023

HyperNAV and HyperPro deployments, 10 days – to calibrate and validate satellite products

VIIRS Cal/Val: R/V Oscar Elton Sette 2022

HyperNAV and HyperPro deployments, 11 days – to calibrate and validate satellite products

Monterey Bay Time Series: R/V Rachel Carson 2021 – 2022

Apparent optical properties, environmental DNA, monthly cruises – Monterey Bay Long Term Ecological Time Series

San Francisco Bay USGS Time Series: R/V Peterson 2020 – 2022

CTD, nutrient, chlorophyll, SPM, 1–3 monthly cruises – San Francisco Bay Long Term Ecological Time Series

Contact

Email: bailessa@oregonstate.edu