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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to melt away entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published recently.

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

Global Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of global heating. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the Western United States, glaciers have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Concentration on Major Glaciers

The new research centers on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are some of the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how long the region was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since before humans inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the glaciers experts studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

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