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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to melt away completely by the start of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report published last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are under threat during the climate emergency. A study released in May of this year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as up to 75% will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the American west, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and probably oldest in the range. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the west, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the region was covered by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies researchers looked at is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”