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Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are under threat during the climate emergency. A study released in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the range. Their durability during climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since prior to people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”