The ice fields in the Patagonian Andes. Unknown（未知的）, barely（几乎不） discovered terrain（地形）. A team of mountaineers and scientists plan to explore these almost unlivable regions, where global climate change is more tangible（切实的） than almost anywhere else in the world. A German scientist is leading the expedition in the harsh（严厉的） battle against wind and ice, the goal to collect data（资料） for climate research. This data is very important for us, and these expeditions may be able to close some of the gaps we have up here. Two professional mountaineers accompany（陪伴） Zalta.

  Their job is to collect samples from regions no one has ever been to before. Covering an area of 17,000 square kilometers, the Patagonian ice fields are over 200 times the size of the largest glacier（冰河） in the Alps. Climate researcher Tobias Zalta is investigating the changes here and documenting（记载） the impact. How is climate change affecting these remote areas? Our extensive（广泛的） research here started with the vision（视） that something should be done in the region, where little research has been carried out so far. We needed more data.

  The glacier changes in particular have been poorly（不舒服的 ad贫穷地） documented（记载） due to the extreme weather conditions. But it's also what makes it so appealing（吸引人的） to go there and say, all right, we're going to a region where researchers don't normally go. It's a combination（结合） of a passion for research and adventure. It's wind force eight. Before setting（设置） off on the big expedition, Zalta stops off at one of the weather stations he's installed on the edge of Grey Glacier. Although the weather stations run self（自己） sufficiently, the recorded data has to be retrieved（[计] 检索） at least every two years.

  Great, it's working（使工作）. We have a connection to the logger（樵夫） and it's still recording. Grey Glacier is relatively（ 相对地） easy to reach, so there is already a lot of data available about it. The glacier is in the southern Patagonian ice field, which is the third largest in the world after Antarctica（南极洲） and Greenland. So far Zalta and his team have only worked here. The more remote northern ice field has hardly been explored.

  Here at its access point in Puerto Guadal, professional mountaineers Robert Yaspa and Jorn Héla are preparing for their expedition to Cerro Héadas. The logistical preparations（准备） on site take a week, at which point climatologist Zalta will join the team. Few mountaineers have more experience in Patagonia than these two. They've been a close-knit team for more than 30 years. Yaspa is one of the world's leading mountaineers. He's a pioneer（拓荒者） of extreme ice climbing.

  He has given（做） many talks on mountain protection（保护）, a subject he is passionate（有激情的） about. I believe that if you take nature's energy back with you, wherever（无论在哪里） you live, you will simply live in a more environmentally（在环境方面地） friendly and conscious（意识到的） way. If every single one of us takes more care of nature and our environment, then I think we'll have gained（获得） a lot in the end. Zalta is on his way to Puerto Natales, where he'll meet Professor Ricardo Hanya from the Chilean Antarctic Institute（研究所）. They've been friends for years. Hi Ricardo, how are you?

  Great. Hanya is considered the scientific expert for this region. This is an extraordinary（非凡的） point on the planet, the lowest tip where South America ends and the Antarctic Peninsula（半岛） are directly opposite each other here and are the only large land masses in the southern hemisphere（半球） that lie this far south. So this is the point where you can explore the outer（外部的） limits of climate change, which is unique（唯一的）. It's clear to everyone here that climate change has already led to dramatic（戏剧的） shifts in Patagonia in recent years. Ingrid Haebel's plants are also feeling the effects.

  She has German roots（根） and is married to Hanya. As a biologist（生物学家）, she's very aware of the consequences for agriculture（农业）. What causes problems for agriculture? There are 150,000 people here and we need to eat. We need a healthy diet. We had a month or two without rain starting in November.

  That makes things a bit difficult. Two days before setting off on the expedition, Zalta also reaches Pueto Guadal. Here he meets the mountaineers, whom he's asked to take samples from higher regions. Patagonia has one of the most extreme melt（（使）融化） rates in the world, so you could say it has the highest turnover（翻覆） of mass（块）. In the lower region at the tongue of the glass here, we have extremely high melt rates. When I get to the places I've been in the past, you simply can't see the glacier at all.

  Often, hundreds of meters of altitude are missing, and sometimes it is receded（后退） by kilometers. In our workers' mountain guides, we see every day how the glaciers are retreating（撤退）. Climate change is here for us. It's very, very real. Pueto Guadal is the last outpost of civilization（文明） and the starting point for expeditions to the northern Patagonian ice field. A shallow（浅的） waterboat will take the team through the icy（冰冷的） rivers, saving them six days of hiking（远足）.

  We've packed all the equipment and checked it several times. If we've forgotten something, the expedition could fail. Yaspa and Helle have planned a total of four weeks to ascend（攀登） Cerro Hidades. Sauta will join the expedition team for the first ten days. He hopes to reach the lower parts of the glacier, which is one or two days' walk from the base camp. The extremely volatile（飞行的） and unpredictable weather in Patagonia will also impact the outcome（结果） of the expedition.

  I think the first bad weather will come tomorrow. That's why it's important that we don't just sit in our little tents, but that we have a kitchen here. For me, the fascination（魔力） of the Patagonian wilderness（荒地） is simply that you have to live very close to the elements.