🔗 Share this article

Far in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to an article published last week.

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

Global Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A research released in May of this year determined that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the world is currently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

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

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and probably most ancient in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was covered by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered swaths of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since prior to people occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the glaciers experts studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the first 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 symbolic loss. Global warming is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”