🔗 Share this article

Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than previously known, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Ice masses globally are at risk during the climate crisis. A research published in the month of May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on track for, as many as 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

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

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the range. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the west, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists examined newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – 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 wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”