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Deep in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the Western United States, ice formations have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably oldest in the range. Their durability during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the region was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”