Ice Sheet Thawing Is Set to Ice-Free Peaks in the Golden State for First Time in Recorded History

Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

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

“Our pieced-together glacial history shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A study published in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on course for, as many as 75% will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the American west, glaciers have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the region was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered large areas of the mountain system for much longer than earlier believed – since before humans inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is believed to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate change, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”