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

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The mountain range’s ice sheets are more ancient than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report published recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are under threat during the climate crisis. A research released in May of this year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as 75% will disappear, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

Throughout the American west, glaciers have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the range. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the area was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies researchers studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”