Captain Lawson Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired), an oceanographer, is a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, and a researcher at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. During his Coast Guard career, he commanded four cutters, including the icebreaker Polar Sea (WAGB-11), on Arctic and Antarctic voyages.

Articles by Lawson Brigham

Sovcomflot

Russia Opens Its Maritime Arctic

By Captain Lawson W. Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
May 2011
The world can be nothing but optimistic about opening this formerly remote and closed region to international shipping.
U.S. Coast Guard (Patrick Kelley)

The Fast-Changing Maritime Arctic

By Captain Lawson W. Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
May 2010
An Arctic expert reviews current developments in the region involving, among other issues, more traffic and the polar melt.
courtesy of the author

Navigating the New Maritime Arctic

By Captain Lawson Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
May 2009
With globalization, climate change, and geopolitical intrigue at play, exploitation of the Arctic is becoming an international chess game.