Story highlights A new study is the most comprehensive look at Antarctic snowfall

It found a 10% increase in snowfall over the past 200 years

Snowfall offsets the ice melt, though only slightly

(CNN) Snowfall across the great white continent of Antarctica is increasing, according to a study released this week by an international team led by the British Antarctic Survey.

The team analyzed 79 ice cores from across Antarctica that provide detailed information on how much snow has fallen over hundreds of years, and it found a 10% increase in snowfall over the past two centuries.

Liz Thomas of the British Antarctic Survey analyzes one of the ice cores used in the study.

This contradicts studies that found that Antarctic snowfall has remained largely constant over the past several decades to centuries. But those studies analyzed only a few ice cores, whereas this comprehensive look at the continent gives a much more thorough view of how weather patterns have changed the polar weather.

"The snowfall increase is driven by changing circulation patterns, drawing warm moist air from the mid-latitudes," said lead study author Liz Thomas, an ice scientist with the British Antarctic Survey.

As you probably guessed, global warming is behind those changing circulation patterns, heating the air and water and reducing sea ice.

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