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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The 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 a report released recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on course for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the Western United States, glaciers have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the region was covered by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers attained their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”