Hidden Ice in Utah's Rock Glaciers Mapped as Global Water Reserve
A Utah-led study uses gravimetric measurements and Bayesian 3D imaging to quantify ice stored in rock glaciers, finding Mount Timpanogos' rock glacier is about 83% ice by volume with an average thickness of 18.8 meters, totaling roughly 1.5 million cubic meters of ice (about 1.4 million tons). Extrapolating from 232 measurements suggests Utah’s 836 documented rock glaciers hold about 1 billion tons of ice, the western US around 12 billion tons, and globally about 48 billion tons, highlighting rock glaciers as a significant but underrecognized freshwater reservoir affected by climate change and capable of influencing local hydrology and hazards.