From viruses to whales: Scientists study climate change at 'end of the world'

From the waters of one of the most inhospitable places on the planet, at the so-called "end of the world," a group of Chilean scientists tracks microscopic viruses to huge whales to collaborate with the assembly of the great climate change puzzle.

A petrel seabird flies in front of a porthole of the Chilean navy oceanographic vessel Cabo de Hornos, as the ship sails through the waters of the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 28, 2021.

A view of the Fouque glacier in southern Chile's Magallanes region, Nov. 30, 2021.

Marine biologist Emilio Alarcon (R) takes water collected by water sampling devices from the sea in the Magallanes region, Chile, Nov. 28, 2021.

Oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos is seen in the Magallanes region, Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

A humpback whale is seen at the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 29, 2021.

A humpback whale is seen at the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 29, 2021.

Crew members of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos take pictures at the glacier Fouque, in the region of Magallanes, Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

Marine biologist Rodrigo Hucke follows a humpback whale in the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 29, 2021.

A Magellanic penguin is seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan that is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

View of an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan that is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

View of the Fouque glacier, located in southern Chile's Magallanes region, Nov. 30, 2021.

A Magellanic penguin is seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan that is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

View of the seaside at Brazo del Sudoeste (Southwest Arm), located in the Beagle Channel that runs along the south side of Gordon Island, Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

A group of imperial cormorants fly over Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan that is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

Marine biologist Rodrigo Hucke looks for whales from the Cabo de Hornos oceanographic research ship in the area of Magallanes, Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

A crew member of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos is photographed in front of the Romanche glacier, located in the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel, in southern Chile's region of Magallanes, Nov. 28, 2021.

A petrel flies over the sea in the Beagle Channel region, Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

View of the Romanche glacier, located in the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel, in southern Chile's region of Magallanes, Nov. 28, 2021.

A chain of mountains at Alberto De Agostini National Park, located at the south of the Strait of Magellan, Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

A rainbow graces the horizon as a black-browed albatross flies over the Beagle Channel, in Chile, Nov. 29, 2021.

Scientist Maximo Frangopulos (R), researcher at the University of Magallanes (UMAG), collects phytoplankton samples from a net in the Magallanes region, Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

Marine biologist Emilio Alarcon (L) collects a syringe of seawater from a sampling device for research, the Magallanes region, Chile, Nov. 28, 2021.

A view of the peak of the Monte Sarmiento mountain, located at the Alberto de Agostini National Park in the Chilean portion of Tierra del Fuego, Chile, Dec. 1, 2021.

A humpback whale is seen at the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 29, 2021.

Crew members of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos are seen in front of the Romanche Glacier, located at the northwest arm of the Beagle Channel in the region of Magallanes, Chile, Nov. 28, 2021.

A dolphin is seen close to Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

A view of the Fouque glacier in southern Chile's region of Magallanes, Nov. 30, 2021.

Marine biologist and documentary maker Nicolas Munoz looks for whales at the Beagle Channel, Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

Magellanic penguins are seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

Scientist Maximo Frangopulos (C), a researcher at the University of Magallanes (UMAG), and crew members of the Chilean navy scientific research ship Cabo de Hornos carry a net that collected phytoplankton samples at the Magallanes region in Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

A view of the Fouque glacier, located in southern Chile's Magallanes region, Nov. 30, 2021.

A black Oystercatcher is seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

A Magellanic penguin is seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

A black Oystercatcher bird is seen at an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

A view of the Fouque glacier in southern Chile's Magallanes region, Nov. 30, 2021.

A petrel flies over an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

A dolphin is seen close to Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

Icebergs detached from the Fouque glacier are seen at the region of Magallanes in Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

A sailor from the Cabo de Hornos oceanographic research ship helps a boat dock that recently went with scientists to the coast of the Brazo del Sudoeste (Southwest Arm) in the Beagle Channel, Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

Wilson Castillo (L) and Marianne Buscaglia (R), scientists from the laboratory of Microbial Ecology of Extreme Systems, filter seawater in search of microorganisms at a laboratory installed inside the Cabo de Hornos oceanographic research ship in Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

A member of the scientific team on board the oceanographic research vessel Cabo de Hornos receives a water sampling device in the Magallanes region, Chile, Dec. 3, 2021.

Fragments of ice float on the water of Fouque fjord at the Beagle Channel in Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.

A kingfisher rests on a stick at Francisco Coloane National Park in Chile, Dec. 2, 2021.

Scientists and members of the crew of the Cabo de Hornos oceanographic research ship disembark in Francisco Coloane National Park, Chile, to take samples for their research, Dec. 2, 2021.

View of an islet in front of Dawson island, located in the Strait of Magellan, which is part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in Chile, Dec. 4, 2021.

Marine scientists Pablo Salgado (L) and Victor Acuna (R) collect sediment from the bottom of the sea at the Beagle Channel region in Chile, Nov. 30, 2021.