The sea will turn a brighter shade of blue due to global warming, a new study predicts.

Experts believe that changing ocean temperatures will alter the distribution of tiny organisms called phytoplankton, which play a crucial role in absorbing sunlight.

As a result, swathes of the subtropics and temperate regions such as the North Atlantic are likely to turn a more brilliant blue due to a diminution of the creatures.

Meanwhile colder waters near the north and south poles will become a deeper green as the algae increasingly flourish.

Published in the journal Nature Communications, the study relied on computer modelling of temperature-based phytoplankton quantities, combined with estimations of light wavelength absorption, to predict changes to sea colour.

The team from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Southampton concluded that at the current rate of warming, approximately half of the world’s oceans will change colour by the end of the century.

The changes will be noticeable to the naked eye, the scientists said, and will also provide vivid indications of shifts to marine ecosystems via satellite imagery.

Dr Stephanie Dutkiewicz, who led the research, said: “There will be a noticeable difference in the color of 50 percent of the ocean by the end of the 21st century.