Glacier Thawing Is Set to Glacier-Less Summits in the Golden State for First Instance in Human History

Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to melt away entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research published in the month of May of this year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the world is presently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations 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 focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are among the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “indicators” for studying ice loss in the west, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists examined newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how long the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers experts looked at is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”