GEOFF BENNETT: Salt marshes exist on every# coast of the U.S.

but these important wetlands## are succumbing quickly to the effects of# sea level rise caused by climate change.

Grace Go with the "News Hour"'s journalism# training program Student Reporting Labs## has the story of how one young photographer from# Massachusetts is fighting to protect these places.

SOREN GOLDSMITH, Photo Engineer and National# Geographic Young Explorer: Your traditional## DSLR.

And then in the back,# we g.. GRACE GO: Soren Goldsmith is a# 20-year-old photographer who has## been named a National Geographic# Young Explorer.

What makes his## photo stand out is not only their# beauty, but how he captures them.

SOREN GOLDSMITH: So, yes, this is the underwater# amphibious camera trap.

I call it IMPACT,## which stands for Intertidal Motion Picture# Activated Camera Trap.

If it works right,## it will go for a week in the marsh.

GRACE GO: Goldsmith is working on a project# in the coastal marshes of Wellfleet,## Massachusetts, a landscape that presents# unique challenges for photography.

SOREN GOLDSMITH: Salt marshes are intertidal# environments, which means that half the day## they're going to be dry, but the other half# of the day, the water is going to come up and## cover this landscape.

I had this idea of what# if I could build an amphibious camera trap.

GRACE GO: Camera traps, which take photos based# on motion detection, have long been a mainstay of## wildlife photography.

But there are few options# for taking the same kinds of photos underwater.

SOREN GOLDSMITH: I ended up heading to the# University of Wisconsin for engineering.## And suddenly I had all these resources at# my disposal.

I had mechanical engineers,## environmental engineers, civil engineers,# computer engineers that were able to combine## their expertise onto one project, because# a camera trap is a complex contraption.

We spent many months building this, putting# this together, getting everything to fit,## getting everything waterproof so it# doesn't flood when it's underwater.

GRACE GO: Soren hopes his photos will# make people want to protect salt marshes.## These biodiverse ecosystems help prevent coastal## erosion and store large amounts of carbon, which# makes them vital to mitigating climate change.

But they're also particularly susceptible# to the effects of climate change.

SOREN GOLDSMITH: The salt# marshes are very low elevation,## practically at sea level.

So the# sea level rising only a little bit,## like an inch, has a huge impact on# that land.

And as a result of this,## salt marshes are being flooded more frequently# and eroding more quickly than they can replenish.

And you mix in this problem with human# development, and a lot of projections are## saying that marshes are going to disappear# very quickly, by the end of the century.

GRACE GO: Still, Goldsmith is optimistic because# of new tools to combat climate change and raise## awareness about the threat it poses.

SOREN GOLDSMITH: Some of the stuff that## I have been able to build, 15 years ago# would not have been possible.

I'm lucky## to be young right now, when I have all of# these cool technology and opportunities## that I can leverage to tell my stories# that older people might not have had.

GRACE GO: For PBS News Student Reporting Labs,# I'm Grace Go in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.