ANTARCTICA HAS BEEN GAINING MORE ICE THAN IT IS LOSING
Antarctica is gaining more ice than it loses, according to a Nasa study published last year.
It said Antarctica's ice sheet is thickening enough to outweigh increased losses caused by melting glaciers.
The research challenges the conclusions of some other studies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report, which says that Antarctica is losing land ice overall.
But it also warns that losses could offset the gains in years to come.
The increase in Antarctic snow began 10,000 years ago and continues in East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica by an average of 0.7 inches (1.7cm) per year, according to the space agency.
Researchers analysed satellite data to demonstrate the Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001.
That net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008.