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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to melt away completely by the beginning of the next century, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to a report released recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as up to 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the American west, ice formations have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the largest and likely most ancient in the range. Their longevity during global heating makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers attained their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers experts looked at is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”