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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are vanishing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of this year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

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

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the largest 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 notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists examined newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since prior to people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the ice-free peaks,” 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 ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”