🔗 Share this article

Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are disappearing and expected to dissolve entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's glaciers are more ancient than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

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

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, 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 covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is believed to have expanded 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, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“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 very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”