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Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous glaciers are vanishing and projected to dissolve completely by the beginning of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Glaciers

The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, tracing back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article published last week.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article states.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A research released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7C, which the world is presently on track for, as many as 75% will disappear, causing 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 report.

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the biggest and probably most ancient in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the article states.

Study Techniques and Results

Scientists looked at newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and took samples to ascertain how long the area was blanketed by glacial ice. They found that the ice masses have covered large areas of the mountain system for far longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers reached their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the glaciers experts studied is believed to have grown seven thousand years ago, earlier than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Ecological and Symbolic Impact

“We’ll be the first to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is highly intangible, but these ice masses are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”