🔗 Share this article Ice Sheet Thawing Will Lead to Ice-Free Peaks in the Golden State for First Instance in Human History Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start 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 Nevada Ice Masses The mountain range’s glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released recently. “Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states. Global Risk to Glaciers Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of this year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement. Throughout the American west, ice formations have shrunk substantially since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article. Concentration on Key Glaciers The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study notes. Study Techniques and Results Researchers examined recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the area was covered by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people occupied North America. The state's glacial sheets reached their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is believed to have expanded seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said. Ecological and Representational Consequences “We’ll be the first to witness the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”