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Far in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous glaciers are vanishing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

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

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article declares.

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of the current year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to melt because of global heating. If such heating increases by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the American west, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and likely most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the study notes.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers examined newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. 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..”