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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report published recently.

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A research published in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

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

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are among the largest and likely oldest in the range. Their durability amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was covered by glacial ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies experts studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

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