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Deep in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's glaciers are more ancient than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with some as ancient as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

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

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research published in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently on track for, as up to 75% will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Across the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the west, 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 region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for far longer than previously known – since prior to people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors stated, and a particular of the glaciers researchers looked at is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”