'Antarctic ice is growing not shrinking' says NASA (video)

A new study has suggested that Antarctica isn't shrinking after all but is getting taller.

The latest data from NASA shows Antarctica is gaining ice mass thanks to snow, and instead of driving sea level rises it may be slowing it down.

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NASA says this information challenges the latest published findings from the UN's inter-governmental panel on climate change, which show that Antarctica is losing ice and driving sea-level rise.

The proof, according to NASA, is Antarctica's inland snowfall.

The agency's lead cryosphere researcher, Jay Zwally, says: "Our main disagreement is for East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica - there we see an ice gain that exceeds the losses in other areas."

This has been Zwally's and NASA's position for years but the problem is that sea levels are still rising but where that water is coming from is still a mystery.

There are also parts of Antarctica that are melting faster than ever, so NASA wants a closer look to better understand how all Antarctica's ice fits into the sea level picture.

The upcoming Ice-Sat 2 mission will be able to track snow changes in Antarctica right down to the thickness of a pencil. It's scheduled for launch in 2018.