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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, new research has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

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

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability during global heating makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists examined recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how extensively the region was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of glaciers, for the first time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”