Scientists uncover massive ice reservoir beneath Mount Timpanogos in Utah

Scientists have uncovered a massive ice reserve beneath the rocky slopes of Mount Timpanogos in Utah. Using gravity measurements, researchers mapped a buried glacier in three dimensions and found that about 83 percent of the structure is ice. The frozen water could fill 600 Olympic‑size swimming pools, a volume equivalent to roughly 1.5 million cubic metres.

The ice is part of a rock glacier, a mixture of debris and frozen material that moves slowly downhill. It forms when falling rock and sediment cover persistent snow, trapping it for millennia. By measuring subtle variations in the Earth’s gravity field, the team could see the hidden ice without drilling or excavation—a technique that has become a powerful tool for studying sub‑surface water.

The discovery adds to a growing list of similar formations worldwide, which together may hold tens of gigatons of water. Climate scientists warn that these hidden reservoirs could buffer streamflow during dry periods, but they are vulnerable to warming temperatures that could melt them. The Utah finding also shows that even in temperate regions, large amounts of ice can persist underground, challenging assumptions about water availability in the future.

Researchers plan to monitor the rock glacier over time, using repeat gravity surveys and satellite imagery, to track changes in ice mass. The work highlights the need to account for hidden water stores in climate models and water‑resource planning. As temperatures rise, understanding the stability of these underground ice masses will be crucial for predicting water supply for communities and ecosystems