🔗 Share this article

Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and expected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

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

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the world is currently on track for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Glaciers

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers reached their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic 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 symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”