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Far in the state of Sierra mountain range, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to melt away entirely by the beginning of the next century, resulting in ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in human history, recent studies has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than previously known, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as ancient as the most recent glacial period, according to an article released last week.

“Our reconstructed glacial history shows that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since documented settlement of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the article declares.

Worldwide Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers around the world are under threat amid the climate crisis. A research published in the month of May of the current year found that nearly 40% of glaciers are doomed to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the planet is presently on track for, as many as 75% will vanish, leading to sea level rise and mass displacement.

Across the Western United States, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the 1800s, according to the article.

Focus on Key Glaciers

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and probably most ancient in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the western region, the study states.

Research Methods and Results

Scientists looked at recently exposed base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how long the region was blanketed by ice. They determined that the glaciers have covered swaths of the mountain system for much longer than previously known – since before humans inhabited North America.

The state's glaciers attained their maximum positions as early as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, earlier than once thought. The disappearance of glaciers, for the first time in human history, shows the profound effects of the climate change, a researcher of the study 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 representational decline. Global warming is very abstract, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re symbolic elements of the American West.”