Researchers at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah have mapped hidden ice reservoirs beneath Mount Timpanogos and across alpine ranges, revealing that subterranean rock glaciers store millions of cubic meters of water that could sustain drought-stressed communities during late summer.
Mount Timpanogos towers 7,000 feet above the Utah Valley as an iconic destination, but its slopes hide a sprawling hydrological network. Snowmelt from mountains across the region provides about 95% of Utah’s total water supply. As hotter and drier conditions persist, state and religious leaders have issued frequent water-conservation statements. Beneath the rugged surface of the landscape lies a largely untapped resource that researchers are only beginning to quantify.
Mapping the Hidden Ice Beneath Mount Timpanogos
From a distance, the jumble of broken rock resting beneath Mount Timpanogos looks like a giant rubble pile rather than a conventional glacier. Beneath that rocky surface, however, lies an enormous reservoir of ice. University of Utah geologists mapped this hidden ice in three dimensions, discovering that the Timpanogos Rock Glacier contains about 1.55 million cubic meters of frozen water. That volume is enough to fill roughly 600 Olympic swimming pools and compares directly in scale to the largest pyramid at Giza.
Conventional glaciers expose gleaming sheets of ice, but rock glaciers are covered by thick layers of debris and loose rocks that conceal the frozen material underneath. Researchers have documented 836 rock glaciers across Utah, stretching through the Wasatch and Uinta ranges as well as the La Sal Mountains near Moab. Despite their rocky exteriors, these landforms remain active. Measurements show the surface of the Timpanogos formation moving downhill at roughly 8 to 20 centimeters per year.
“There’s a lot of ice that’s hidden in Utah’s mountains. When we are high in the mountains and walking across loose rocks or rubble, you don’t realize there could be 120 feet of ice buried beneath your feet.”
Leif Anderson, University of Utah glaciology professor
Using Sensitive Gravimeters to Peer Through Mountain Debris
Seeing beneath several meters of loose debris presents a significant technical challenge for geologists. Ground-penetrating radar commonly maps ordinary glacier beds, but rocks inside and above rock glaciers scatter radar waves and degrade image quality. To overcome this obstacle, Bronson Cvijanovich, a former University of Utah geology and geophysics graduate student, led six field trips to the Timpanogos Rock Glacier in 2024.
Cvijanovich carried a sensitive gravimeter across the rocky terrain, recording measurements at 232 locations spaced roughly 25 meters apart. The technique capitalizes on a basic physical difference between stone and ice: rock is substantially denser than ice. Geophysics professor Michael Thorne explained that gravity weakens slightly above areas containing more buried ice.
“When we measure the gravitational acceleration over the rock glacier, we see a larger decrease in that gravitational acceleration as we make measurements over areas with thicker ice.”
Michael Thorne, University of Utah geophysics professor
After months of computation time, the research team applied a Bayesian statistical model to correct the raw data for elevation, latitude, surrounding terrain, and the positions of the Sun and Moon. The resulting two-layer model revealed an average rock glacier thickness of about 18.8 meters, with some areas containing several tens of meters of ice-rich material. Across the modeled landform, ice represents roughly 72% of the total volume. Within the ice-rich core itself, the mixture is about 83% ice and 17% loose rock, leading Cvijanovich to note that the feature is surprisingly ice-rich.
Field Expeditions Across Utah and Colorado
While the University of Utah team modeled a single landform in deep detail, a separate collaborative effort led by Brigham Young University examined the broader alpine picture. BYU geology professor Greg Carling and his students embarked on a six-week expedition, hiking to nearly 100 high-country rock glaciers throughout Utah and Colorado to locate outlet streams fed by the subterranean ice.
The research team set out to determine whether these remote water sources could provide relief to communities facing severe drought. Over 90% of Utah remained in severe or worse drought categories through the summer and into meteorological fall, according to data from the U.S. Carling noted that the team discovered nearly all of the visited rock glaciers featured active water outlets.
“Rock glaciers are similar to an ice glacier that we’re familiar with… It basically looks like a pile of rocks, but it’s all moving downhill, just like a glacier would be.”
Greg Carling, BYU geology professor
In addition to identifying outlet streams, the BYU researchers collected water and macroinvertebrate samples to assess water quality. Laboratory analyses of trace metals and water chemistry revealed excellent water quality across most of the outflows, offering a reliable hydrological boost during late summer when regional water demands peak.
Global Implications and Future Water Management
The dual studies on alpine ice reservoirs arrive as researchers globally attempt to quantify hidden water stores. Calculations across known rock glaciers worldwide suggest these debris-covered formations may hold roughly 48 gigatons of water. Because rock glaciers are insulated by thick layers of rock debris, they release water long after winter snowpacks melt away, shielding the ice from direct solar radiation.
For graduate students participating in the field research, the project offered both scientific training and a broader perspective on global water scarcity. Lerato Thoka-Cole, a BYU geology graduate student who worked on the project, hopes to apply the insights gained in the American West to her home continent.
“Right now, Africa is considered a very water-scarce continent, but so much of its water is trapped in aquifers, which is groundwater, and it hasn’t been tapped into. I want to take everything I’ve learned and give back.”
Lerato Thoka-Cole, BYU geology graduate student
Collaborative findings from BYU, the University of Utah, and the Utah Geological Survey are intended to inform future water management strategies throughout the Mountain West. As regional authorities grapple with long-term drought conditions, understanding the exact volume, quality, and release timing of subterranean alpine ice will determine how effectively communities can adapt to a changing climate.
