Scientists find a huge hidden ice reservoir beneath Utah’s mountains

Beneath the rocky slopes of Mount Timpanogos lies far more ice than anyone walking across the surface might suspect. Researchers used gravity measurements to map the buried glacier in 3D and found it is about 83% ice, with enough frozen water to fill 600 Olympic swimming pools. Their findings suggest rock glaciers form as falling debris buries persistent snow and preserves it for thousands of years.

Similar formations around the world may collectively store tens of gigatons of hidden water. Scientists find a huge hidden ice reservoir beneath Utah’s mountains. Scientists find a huge hidden ice reservoir beneath Utah’s mountains Science News from research organizations Scientists find a huge hidden ice reservoir beneath Utah’s mountains A rocky Utah mountainside is hiding a glacier that is 83% ice, revealing a vast and overlooked store of frozen water.

Instead of exposed ice, they resemble sprawling fields of loose rock, while potentially concealing large quantities of ice below the surface. These formations are widespread across Utah’s Wasatch and Uinta ranges and can also be found on the Colorado Plateau in the La Sal Mountains near Moab. University of Utah geologists have now taken a detailed look inside one of the state’s largest examples, the Timpanogos Rock Glacier beneath the prominent summit of Mount Timpanogos near Salt Lake City and Provo.

Two new studies examine how the glacier formed and reveal how much ice is buried inside it.