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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article released last week.

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

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are under threat during the climate emergency. A study published in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

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

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their durability during global heating makes them “indicators” for studying ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in human history, shows the profound impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation 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 flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”