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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive ice formations are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in human history, new research has discovered.

Age-Old Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than earlier understood, dating back many thousands of years, with some as old as the last ice age, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a coming glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since documented peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article declares.

Worldwide Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the world is currently 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 shrunk substantially since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the report.

Focus on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their longevity during climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the study notes.

Research Methods and Results

Researchers examined recently exposed bedrock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how long the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have covered swaths of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and a particular of the glaciers experts looked at is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the initial time in recorded history, shows the profound impacts of the climate change, a researcher of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

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