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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The mountain range’s ice sheets are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article published recently.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are under threat during the climate crisis. A study published in the month of May of this year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on track for, as many as 75% will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the Western United States, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus 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 largest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers examined recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies experts looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”