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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of this year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the article states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have expanded 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 change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”