( CNN ) -- Arctic reindeer herders in northern Scandinavia are getting a view from space to help them look after their herds as the region copes with climate change . Snow worries : Satellite maps of snow coverage and melt can help reindeer herders . Using satellite-based snow melt maps supplied by the European Space Agency ( ESA ) backed program Polar View , herders are able to view the depth of snow and judge where the best foraging spots are to take their reindeer . `` Snow is of paramount importance for reindeer herding , because its quality determines whether reindeer are able to access the pastures that lie beneath it for much of the year , '' Anders Oskal , the Director of the International Center for Reindeer Husbandry ( ICR ) told the ESA . `` Detailed circumpolar snow information is , thus , becoming increasingly important following the recent changes in the Arctic climate . '' Oskal is working with Sámi reindeer herders in Finnmark , Norway , to help them maintain and develop sustainable reindeer husbandry . According to Oskal , Finnmark is the area of Norway that is predicted to experience the largest temperature increases , raising concerns about whether ice layers will form over pastures preventing reindeer from foraging . Under the Polar View initiative , Kongsberg Satellite Services ( KSAT ) have been providing snow melt maps for Norway and Sweden , as well as snow cover maps for Eurasia , for the last 18 months . The ICR partnered with Polar View in a trial of the maps to examine how satellite observations could help by gathering information on snow change in a timely manner for such vast circumpolar regions . `` The experience so far has definitely been positive , and the reindeer herders are extremely interested in the future utilization of Polar View products that can relate important information about local snow conditions , '' said Oskal . `` These products could have important consequences for herders ' decisions regarding winter pasture quality and potential migration routes . '' In addition to climate change , reindeer herders also have to face a loss of pastures because of infrastructure development , such as roads , hydroelectric power dams and cabin resorts . The same technology would help the ICR to monitor the different forms of land-use change over time .
Sámi herders using satellite-based maps of snow to judge best areas . Climate change has made it harder to find foraging spots for reindeer herds . The Sami are a nomadic people who live in the Arctic and spend most winters on their traditional land, hunting seals or caribou with dogs called huskies.