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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

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

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate emergency. A research released in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers looked at recently exposed base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how long the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since before humans inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies researchers looked at is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”