Utah Scientists Map Hidden Glacier With 232 Gravity Readings, Estimating 1.55 Million Cubic Meters of Ice
Updated
Updated · Eos · Sep 17
Utah Scientists Map Hidden Glacier With 232 Gravity Readings, Estimating 1.55 Million Cubic Meters of Ice
2 articles · Updated · Eos · Sep 17
Summary
A new University of Utah study produced a 3D map of the buried Timpanogos rock glacier and estimated it holds 1,550,000 cubic meters of ice—about 600 Olympic pools.
The team turned to gravity measurements because ground-penetrating radar struggles to see through the glacier’s rock cover; lower gravitational acceleration signaled thicker internal ice.
Bronson Cvijanovich carried a gravimeter up a 5-mile trail and collected 232 readings across six multiday trips, then researchers used Bayesian inversion to match simulations with field data.
Using the method more broadly, the researchers estimated Utah’s rock glaciers store about 1.08 cubic kilometers of ice, the western U.S. up to 13 cubic kilometers, and known global rock glaciers 52.38 cubic kilometers.
Scientists said those buried ice bodies are missing from Utah hydrological models even though they can release water year-round and may prove more resilient than exposed glaciers in a warming climate.