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Deep in the state of Sierra Nevada, massive glaciers are vanishing and expected to dissolve completely by the start of the next century, leaving summits without glaciers for the first time in recorded human existence, new research has found.

Age-Old Beginnings of Sierra Range Ice Masses

The range's ice sheets are older than earlier understood, dating back tens of thousands of years, with a few as old as the last ice age, according to an article released recently.

“Our pieced-together ice age record shows that a coming ice-free Sierra Nevada is without precedent in human history since known peopling of the Americas ~20,000 years ago,” the article states.

Global Threat to Glaciers

Glaciers around the world are at risk amid the climate emergency. A research released in the month of May of the current year determined that almost forty percent of glaciers are destined to melt because of climate warming. If this warming rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius, which the planet is presently on course for, as many as seventy-five percent will vanish, leading to ocean level increase and large-scale relocation.

Throughout the Western United States, glaciers have shrunk significantly since they were first documented in the late 19th century, according to the report.

Focus on Key Ice Bodies

The new research focuses on four Sierra Nevada glacial masses – the Palisade, Lyell, Maclure and Conness ice sheets – that are among the largest and likely oldest in the range. Their durability amid climate warming makes them “bellwethers” for examining glacier disappearance in the west, the study states.

Research Methods and Findings

Scientists examined newly uncovered bedrock around the glaciers and took samples to ascertain how long the region was blanketed by ice. They found that the ice masses have enveloped swaths of the range for far longer than previously known – since before humans occupied North America.

The state's glaciers attained their maximum positions as early as 30,000 years ago, the study's researchers stated, and one of the glaciers experts studied is thought to have grown 7,000 years ago, sooner than once thought. The loss of glaciers, for the initial time in human history, shows the dramatic impacts of the climate crisis, a researcher of the study said.

Environmental and Representational Impact

“We’ll be the initial ones to see the glacier-less summits,” said the study's lead researcher, the study’s lead author. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Global warming is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re symbolic elements of the Western U.S..”