🔗 Share this article

Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s ice sheets are more ancient 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 reconstructed ice age record shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of this year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on course for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, glaciers have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Glaciers

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the largest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and took samples to ascertain how long the area was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before humans inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate change, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”