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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are disappearing and projected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

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

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

Worldwide Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat amid the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the American west, glaciers have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the article notes.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how long the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for far longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications 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 Western U.S..”