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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are older than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article released last week.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article declares.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research released in the month of May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Concentration on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed base rock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how extensively the area was covered by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the ice bodies researchers studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”