Glacier Melt Is Set to Glacier-Less Peaks in the Golden State for First Instance in Human History

Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations 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 Ice Masses

The mountain range’s ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

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

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the Western United States, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying ice loss in the west, the study notes.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the area was covered by glacial ice. They found that the glaciers have covered swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is believed to have expanded seven thousand years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”