Ice Sheet 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 disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s ice sheets are older than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study released in May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the range. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how long the area was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for much longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the first to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”