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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to a report released recently.

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

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A study released in May of this year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on course for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are some of the biggest and likely most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the area was covered by glacial ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the glaciers experts studied 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, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”