Gravity Survey Reveals 1.55 Million Cubic Meters of Hidden Ice Beneath Utah’s Rock Glacier
Scientists mapped buried ice beneath Mount Timpanogos in Utah using 232 gravity readings and Bayesian 3D modeling, uncovering about 1.55 million cubic meters of ice (roughly 600 Olympic pools) under a debris-covered rock glacier. The ice, estimated at ~83% of the mass and buried up to ~150 feet deep, likely forms from snowfall and rockfall and may represent a substantial water reserve in a dry region; globally, rock glaciers could contain tens of thousands of similar ice reserves totaling around 48 gigatons of water. The work highlights rock glaciers as active, ice-holding systems rather than inert rubble and relied on gravimeters and field expeditions in fall 2024.
