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Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are disappearing and expected 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 discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article declares.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate emergency. A study released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

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

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how extensively the region was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is believed to have expanded seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate change, 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 ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”