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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study published in the month of May of this year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to thaw because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the article.

Concentration on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the largest and likely most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have covered swaths of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, shows the profound effects of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”