🔗 Share this article

Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

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

“Our pieced-together glacial history shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article declares.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A study published in the month of May of the current year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have shrunk significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the biggest and probably most ancient in the range. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the range for much longer than earlier believed – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers reached their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. 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 Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”