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

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are more ancient than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report released recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article declares.

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A research published in the month of May of this year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on track for, as up to 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the region was covered by glacial ice. They found that the glaciers have covered large areas of the range for much longer than previously known – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers attained their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”