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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to an article released last week.

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article declares.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Ice masses globally are under threat amid the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to melt because of global heating. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

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

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the largest and probably most ancient in the range. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying ice loss in the western region, the article states.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered large areas of the range for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers attained their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”