The Point Of No Return

Not all hope is lost, though. According to Morlighem, there are two ridges near the Thwaites Glacier’s current grounding lines. Located around 18.6 miles and 31 miles upstream, they could act as brakes to stop the glacial mass’ movement.

On the other hand, they could also be seen as the point of no return. In the event that the glacier moves past these ridges, nothing could prevent its pull-back anymore. And we don’t need a degree in glaciology to know that this could spell utter disaster for the world’s sea levels.