Glacier Melt Is Set to Ice-Free Peaks in California for First Instance in Recorded History

Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

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

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate emergency. A research published in the month of May of the current year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating 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 shrunk significantly since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on four 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 climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists examined recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for much longer than earlier believed – since before humans inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”