Ian arrived in Seattle late evening on Sunday after spending a day with friends in Portland – a very interesting city to say the least! After a short flight and good sleep, Ian made his way to the University of Washington’s marine facility, located next to the School of Oceanography. Ian had interviewed for a faculty job here some time ago, so it was interesting to see the place again! There, he met with the UW head of operations and several other folks to discuss plans for the winter’s research cruise in the Puget Sound on board the Clifford Barnes.

 The R/V Clifford Barnes at dock

The ship is equipped with everything we will need to accomplish the research goals, which include: 1) survey of deepwater sea star populations, 2) sediment coring to determine presence/absence of SSaDV (and a few other viruses) in strata; and 3) plankton tows to look…