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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are disappearing and projected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the next century, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

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

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study states.

Global Risk to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study published in the month of May of this year found that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on track for, as up to 75% will vanish, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the article states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the region was blanketed by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since before humans inhabited North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the principal investigator. “This has environmental ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”