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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers 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 published recently.

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

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A study published in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Glaciers

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably oldest in the range. Their durability during global heating makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for much longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers looked at is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”