🔗 Share this article

Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with some as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released last week.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research published in May of the current year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the world is currently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the Western United States, glaciers have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers examined newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how long the area was covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than previously known – since before people occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers researchers looked at is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

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