It is seen as one of the most distressing effects of climate change ever recorded: a polar bear dying of exhaustion after being stranded between melting patches of Arctic sea ice.

But now the government scientist who first warned of the threat to polar bears in a warming Arctic has been suspended and his work put under official investigation for possible scientific misconduct.

On thin ice ... a polar bear in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Credit:AP

Charles Monnett, a wildlife biologist, oversaw much of the scientific work for the government agency that has been examining drilling in the Arctic. He managed about $50 million in research projects and was suspended on July 18.

Some question why Monnett, employed by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (Boemre), has been suspended now.