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Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report released last week.

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

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research published in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the world is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Across the American west, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how long the area was covered by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”