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Far in the state of Sierra Nevada, enormous ice formations are disappearing and projected to dissolve entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are more ancient than earlier understood, tracing back many thousands of years, with some as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report published last week.

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas around twenty thousand years ago,” the study states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses around the world are at risk during the climate emergency. A research published in May of the current year found that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of global heating. If this warming increases by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on track for, as many as 75% will vanish, causing sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the American west, ice formations have diminished significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Concentration on Key Ice Bodies

The recent study centers on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade glaciers – that are some of the biggest and likely oldest in the range. Their longevity amid climate warming makes them “indicators” for examining ice loss in the west, the study states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at recently exposed bedrock around the ice formations and took samples to determine how long the region was covered by ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped large areas of the range for much longer than earlier believed – since prior to humans inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers attained their peak extents as long ago as thirty thousand years ago, the article’s authors stated, and a particular of the ice bodies researchers looked at is thought to have grown seven thousand years ago, sooner than once thought. The disappearance of glaciers, for the initial time in recorded history, demonstrates the dramatic effects of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Ecological and Representational Consequences

“We’ll be the first to see the glacier-less summits,” said Andrew Jones, the principal investigator. “This has ecological ramifications for plants and animals. And it’s a representational decline. Global warming is highly intangible, but these ice masses are concrete. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”