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Deep in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

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

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research published in May of this year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Across the American west, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their longevity during global heating makes them “indicators” for studying ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the region was covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have covered swaths of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”