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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the start of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report published last week.

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

Worldwide Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A research released in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the world is presently on track for, as up to 75% will vanish, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how extensively the region was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers studied is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate change, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”