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Far in California’s Sierra mountain range, enormous ice formations are disappearing and projected to dissolve entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with some as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released recently.

“Our pieced-together glacial history indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the study declares.

Global Threat to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are at risk during the climate crisis. A study published in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to melt because of global heating. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on course for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, ice formations have diminished substantially since they were initially recorded in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Major Glaciers

The recent study centers on four 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 “bellwethers” for studying glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Researchers examined recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and took samples to determine how long the area was blanketed by ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered large areas of the range for far longer than previously known – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers reached their peak extents as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and a particular of the glaciers experts studied is believed to have expanded 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, demonstrates the profound effects of the climate crisis, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological ramifications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”