When Kamb stopped moving. The crevasses of its shear margin remained. Then, new layers of accumulation covered the crevasses.

Don't underestimate the power of hydrology in Antarctica!

/end

So, why the buried crevasses? Unlike most glaciers, we ice streams are not bound by topography. We are simply surrounded by slower ice.

You can find our edges by looking for a bunch of crevasses, where the shear between us and the surrounding ice causes ice to fracture. /5

But then Kamb lost their basal water lubrication, bringing them to (essentially) a grinding halt. /4

But hydrology is cruel, and the high of being an ice stream has an expiration date 😥 ... at least where I am in the Siple Coast.

I remember when Kamb had a spring in their step... bragging about how they'd "live FOR-EVAAH!" <--- (their words, btw) /3

For ice streams, it's all about that sweet, sweet water. The deformation of ice is painfully slow, so some water lubrication at our base makes us move faster.

The breeze in our firn is so refreshing. Normal glaciers don't know what they're missing. /2

For the nerds: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

As an ice stream, moving slow isn't my thing unfortunately. And a bunch of scientists are trying to find my secrets.

The odds are stacked against me.