🔗 Share this article

Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and projected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are at risk amid the climate emergency. A study published in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to thaw because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

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

Concentration on Major Glaciers

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are among the biggest and likely most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability during climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers examined newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the glaciers experts looked at is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study 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 ecological ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”