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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and projected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are older than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with some as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report published last week.

“Our reconstructed glacial history indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research released in May of this year determined that almost forty percent of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is presently on course for, as up to 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The recent study 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 range. Their longevity during global heating makes them “indicators” for studying glacier disappearance in the western region, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers researchers studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”