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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than previously known, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published last week.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as up to 75% will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to ascertain how long the region was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since prior to people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in human history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”