The loss of ‘eternal ice’ threatens Mongolian reindeer herders’ way of life
Patches of long-frozen snowpack and ice in the Mongolian steppes are rapidly vanishing — with dire consequences for the reindeer and herders who rely on the icy spots. About 30 families, members of the Tsaatan people (SN: 1/14/03), live within a remote part of northern Mongolia called the Ulaan Taiga Special Protected Area. Interviews with some of these families have let researchers create a never-before-recorded history of this frozen resource, and gain new insight into how quickly it is vanishing. During the summer, the Tsaatan bring their reindeer herds to a treeless, tundra valley region called Mengebulag. There, numerous large patches of snow and ice have historically persisted, regardless of season, for decades, perhaps longer. The people call these patches “eternal ice,” or munkh mus. The ice is an important source of freshwater for families, and reindeer lie on it to cool themselves and seek respite from biting insects, says William Taylor, an archaeologist at University of Colorado Boulder and the Max Planck Institute for the...