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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are disappearing and projected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to a report published recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study declares.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk amid the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on course for, as up to seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

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

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets reached their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and one of the glaciers experts looked at is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”