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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous glaciers are disappearing and expected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, new research has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article released last week.

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Ice masses globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A research released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

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

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists examined newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to ascertain how long the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have covered large areas of the range for much longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers reached their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers experts studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”