Ice Sheet Thawing Is Set to Ice-Free Summits in California for First Time in Recorded History
Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous glaciers are disappearing and projected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.
Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Glaciers
The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with some as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published last week.
“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.
Worldwide Threat to Glaciers
Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate crisis. A study released in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of global heating. 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 large-scale relocation.
Throughout the American west, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the report.
Concentration on Key Ice Bodies
The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying ice loss in the western region, the article states.
Study Techniques and Results
Scientists examined recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to ascertain how long the region was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for much longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.
California’s glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers looked at is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.
Ecological and Symbolic Impact
“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has environmental implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”
