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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are disappearing and projected to melt away entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, new research has found.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released recently.

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are under threat during the climate emergency. A research published in May of the current year determined 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 course for, as many as 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

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

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study 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 mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how long the region was blanketed by ice. They found that the glaciers have covered large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since prior to people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers experts studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”