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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve entirely by the beginning of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article published recently.

“Our reconstructed ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Risk to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A study published in May of this year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If such heating increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, leading to ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Throughout the American west, 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 focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are some of the largest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the article states.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and collected specimens to determine how long the area was covered by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and one of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in human history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, 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..”