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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are vanishing and expected to melt away entirely by the start of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research released in the month of May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the American west, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are some of the biggest and likely most ancient in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the area was blanketed by ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered large areas of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans occupied North America.

California’s glaciers attained their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers looked at is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”