Arctic ice

New Governance for the Central Arctic Ocean

The CAO agreement should provide momentum for joint scientific operations and close cooperation among the Arctic and non-Arctic states.

Captain Lawson Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
September 2021
Ocean Floor

Burial at Sea: Injecting CO2 into the Deep Ocean

The total volume of the World Ocean has an almost unlimited capacity to absorb CO2. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies could greatly accelerate this.

Captain Don Walsh, U.S. Navy (Retired)
July 2021
Cargo Ship

The Suez Canal and Global Trade Routes

Today’s shortest sea route between Southeast Asia and Europe, the Suez Canal carries 12 percent of global trade.

Captain Lawson Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
May 2021
Wind turbines on the Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast of Cumbria, England, in the Irish Sea.

Global Offshore Wind Energy: Emerging Ocean Use

The offshore wind industry is a newcomer to the use of the oceans and seabed when compared with historic maritime sectors such as fishing, shipping, and offshore hydrocarbon development.

Captain Lawson W. Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
January 2021
Dependence on the sea for critical resources has been key in Japan’s development as a maritime nation.

Japan and the 21st-Century Oceans

The stakes are high for Japan as the world’s third largest economy and one of the nations most dependent on the oceans.

Captain Lawson Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
August 2020
The new-born island of Surtsey, off Iceland, on 30 November 1963, as captured in this photo 16 days after the start of the eruption that led to its creation. Today, it is a 346-acre, 510-foot-high island slowly being repopulated by nature.

Vulcan’s Forge: Volcanoes on the Seafloor

Approximately 71 percent of the Earth’s surface is seafloor, so it is not surprising that more than 80 percent of the planet’s known volcanoes are found there.

Captain Don Walsh, U.S. Navy (Retired)
July 2020
Coast Guard Academy cadets conduct their first day of the Coastal Sail Training Program on board a 44-foot sloop on the Thames River. Sail training has always been an essential part of the Academy’s training.

Training Under Sail in the 21st Century

Training under sail for future officers, whether on board a sailing dinghy, small keelboat, or square-rigged sailing vessel, has never been more important.

Captain Lawson W. Brigham, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired)
May 2020
A hydrographic survey ship uses a multibeam sonar seafloor mapping system.

Mapping the World Ocean Seafloor

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), only 10 percent of the 140 million square miles of the planet’s seafloor has been “adequately mapped.”

Don Walsh
March 2020