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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the coming hundred years, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

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

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are under threat amid the climate emergency. A research released in May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The new research 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 durability during global heating makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers examined newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how long the area was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the range for much longer than previously known – since prior to people occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the glaciers experts studied is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has environmental implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”