The pristine white of the Arctic is turning green because massive blooms of plankton can grow beneath the thinning sheets of sea ice, according to a new study.

The phenomenon was first noticed in 2011 and was something of a surprise as it had been believed that the water beneath the ice was far too dark for plants to photosynthesize.

But now researchers have established the reason the plankton can flourish in such a usually alien environment is that rising temperatures have melted the ice to the point where light can pass through.

The green shows the area of sea ice where plankton is able to grow (Christopher Horvat)

After developing a mathematical model, they concluded about 30 per cent of the Arctic sea ice is thin enough for this to happen, compared to just three to four per cent only 20 years ago, they reported in the journal Science Advances.

In addition to the thinning of the ice, large pools of water have been forming on the surface, which help the sunlight get through the normally impenetrable ice.

Sea ice has been at record low levels for much of this year with 14.1 million square kilometres on 28 March, compared to the average between 1981 and 2010 of 15.4 million at the same time of year.

The Arctic has seen astonishing rises in temperatures over the last few decades with Spitsbergen experiencing winters of up to 11 degrees Celsius warmer than the average between 1961 and 1990.

One of the researchers, Dr Chris Horvat, of Harvard University, said: “Our big question was how much sunlight gets transmitted through the sea ice, both as a function of thickness, which has been decreasing, and the melt pond percentage, which has been increasing.

“What we found was that we went from a state where there wasn’t any potential for plankton blooms to massive regions of the Arctic being susceptible to these types of growth.”

The thickness of sea ice in the Arctic has reduced by an average of about a metre in the past 30 years.

And Dr Horvat said this had “dramatically changed the ecology in that area”.

“All of a sudden, our entire idea about how this ecosystem works is different,” he said.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke – filled with the carbon that is driving climate change – drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. “Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals,” says the photographer. “Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow.” Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a “public health emergency”. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

“The foundation of the Arctic food web is now growing at a different time and in places that are less accessible to animals that need oxygen.”

The blooms of plankton form the basis of the food web in the region.

Sea ice retreats and advances as summer turns to winter and normally the plankton will bloom in the open water, rather than under the ice. This attracts fish and also their predators.