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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and expected to melt away completely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Origins of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back many 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 glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Worldwide Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study released in May of the current year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as up to 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and mass displacement.

Across the American west, glaciers have diminished significantly since they were initially recorded in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are some of the biggest and probably most ancient in the range. Their durability amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the study notes.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists examined newly uncovered base rock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how long the region was blanketed by ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before people occupied North America.

California’s glacial sheets attained their maximum positions as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the ice bodies researchers looked at is thought to have expanded seven thousand years ago, earlier than previously believed. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, demonstrates the profound impacts of the climate change, one author of the investigation said.

Ecological and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”