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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away completely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than previously known, tracing back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article released last week.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study declares.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate crisis. A research released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the American west, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Glaciers

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the largest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the article notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers examined newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how extensively the area was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for much longer than earlier believed – since before humans occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these glaciers are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”