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Deep in the state of Sierra mountain range, enormous glaciers are disappearing and expected to melt away entirely by the start of the coming hundred years, leaving ice-free peaks for the initial occasion in recorded human existence, recent studies has discovered.

Ancient Beginnings of Sierra Range Glaciers

The range's glaciers are older than previously known, dating back many thousands of years, with a few as old as the most recent glacial period, according to a report released last week.

“Our reconstructed ice age record indicates that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in the history of humankind since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article declares.

Global Risk to Ice Formations

Glaciers globally are under threat during the climate emergency. A study published in the month of May of this year determined that nearly 40% of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If such heating rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as 75% will disappear, leading to sea level rise and large-scale relocation.

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

Concentration on Major Ice Bodies

The recent study focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade ice sheets – that are some of the biggest and likely most ancient in the mountain chain. Their longevity during global heating makes them “bellwethers” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the article states.

Study Techniques and Findings

Researchers looked at newly uncovered base rock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how long the region was covered by ice. They determined that the ice masses have enveloped large areas of the range for far longer than previously known – since before people inhabited North America.

The state's glacial sheets attained their peak extents as long ago as 30,000 years ago, the article’s authors wrote, and a particular of the ice bodies experts studied is thought to have expanded 7,000 years ago, sooner than once thought. The disappearance of ice formations, for the first time in human history, shows the dramatic effects of the climate change, one author of the study said.

Environmental and Symbolic Consequences

“We’ll be the initial ones to witness the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for flora and fauna. And it’s a representational decline. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the Western U.S..”