Botanist and climate scientist Dorothy Peteet has been in the business digging deep into bogs, marshes and fens for more than 40 years, revealing natural and human histories going back thousands of years, and their role in changing climate. A final frontier: the obscure remains of New York City’s once widespread coastal wetlands.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment was released today. The message: change is here, but immediate action can avert the worst impacts.

Researchers at Columbia Climate School discuss the benefits and challenges of working with carbon from ocean and coastal ecosystems.