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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and expected to dissolve entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, new research has found.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report released last week.

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research published in May of this year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the American west, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Glaciers

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was covered by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for much longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in human history, shows the profound impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”