How about Dr Jan Lieser from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), based in Hobart?
"The increase in Antarctic sea ice extent might seem paradoxical given changes in the global climate, but it's not when we consider some of the other factors at play," he said
Scientists said it was important to make the distinction between the ice shelf and sea ice.
Changed climatic conditions have seen the Antarctic ice shelf shrink an average rate of about 100 gigatonnes per year.
"Fresher water freezes at a higher temperature, and we know that the sea water around Antarctica is becoming less salty partly due to the rapid shrinking of the thick Antarctic ice sheet over land," Dr Lieser said.
Dr Lieser said it was important to understand the various processes at work.
"Factors like wind, snowfall and the saltiness of the water all play an important role in this process, and we know that all of these inputs have been changing as part of larger changes in the global system," he said.
