Glacier Melt Will Lead to Glacier-Less Peaks in California for First Instance in Human History

Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and projected to melt away entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to a report released recently.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study declares.

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A research published in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for studying ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for much longer than earlier believed – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers 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 dramatic effects of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”