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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released last week.

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

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study published in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Across the Western United States, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably most ancient in the range. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers examined newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for much longer than previously known – since prior to humans occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the ice bodies researchers studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”