🔗 Share this article

Deep in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers 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 recorded human existence, new research has found.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling 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 study released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the area was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”