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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient 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 reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since documented settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, glaciers have shrunk substantially since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Key Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and probably oldest in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for much longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the glaciers experts looked at is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, sooner 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 Symbolic Consequences

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