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Deep in California’s Sierra Nevada, massive ice formations are vanishing and expected to melt away entirely by the start of the next century, resulting in summits without glaciers for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Nevada Ice Masses

The mountain range’s glaciers 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 indicates that a future ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in the history of humankind since known settlement of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Worldwide Threat to Glaciers

Ice masses globally are under threat amid the climate emergency. A study released in May of this year determined that nearly 40% of ice sheets are destined to thaw because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7C, which the planet is currently on course for, as many as 75% will disappear, causing ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

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

Concentration on Key Glaciers

The recent study centers on several Sierra Nevada glaciers – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness glaciers – that are among the largest and probably oldest in the mountain chain. Their durability amid global heating makes them “indicators” for examining glacier disappearance in the western region, the article notes.

Study Techniques and Results

Researchers looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and collected specimens to ascertain how extensively the area was covered by glacial ice. They determined that the glaciers have enveloped swaths of the mountain system for much longer than earlier believed – since before people inhabited North America.

California’s glaciers reached their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers wrote, and one of the glaciers researchers looked at is believed to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than previously believed. The loss of ice formations, for the first time in recorded history, shows the profound effects of the climate crisis, one author of the investigation said.

Environmental and Representational Consequences

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