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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to dissolve entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to a report published recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since documented settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A study released in the month of May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of global heating. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will disappear, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

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

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the study notes.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to ascertain how extensively the region was covered by ice. They found that the glaciers have covered swaths of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is believed to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re iconic features of the American West.”