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Far in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s ice sheets are older than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since documented peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A study released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the world is currently on course for, as up to 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the American west, glaciers have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Glaciers

The recent study centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how long the region was covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have covered large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers looked at is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”