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Deep in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the first time in human history, recent studies has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are older than earlier understood, dating 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 shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk during the climate crisis. A study released in May of this year found that almost forty percent of ice sheets are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the world is presently on course for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the article.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the largest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how extensively the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have covered large areas of the range for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as early as thirty thousand years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

“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 ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”