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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, leaving ice-free peaks for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The mountain range’s glaciers are more ancient than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to a report published recently.

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study published in May of the current year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating increases by 2.7C, which the world is presently on track for, as up to seventy-five percent will vanish, causing sea level rise and mass displacement.

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

Focus on Major Glaciers

The new research focuses on several Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the biggest and likely oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining ice loss in the western region, the article notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have covered swaths of the range for much longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

California’s glaciers attained their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors stated, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in human history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to witness the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has environmental implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”