Artic green ice is attracting the attention of researchers as well as the general public these days. Everyone seems to be asking what turned Arctic ice green especially when the region is known to be a barren white winter wonderland. Scientists now have the answer to this unusual phenomenon and they think that global warming may be to blame.

Ice on top of the Arctic sea used to be thick and impenetrable by sunlight. But with the Earth becoming warmer, ice sheets become thinner and thus light is able to pass through it and stimulate phytoplankton to bloom, Economic Times reported. These microscopic organisms were only present during the summer months when temperatures in the area would rise slightly. But now Artic green ice can be seen more frequently even after the summer season is over.

Phytoplankton blooms also accumulate in areas known as melt ponds because these areas are where ice is thinner and thus have reduced ability to reflect sunlight back. A study regarding the Artic green ice and the presence of microscopic phytoplankton in the Artic sea has led to the creation of a mathematical model.

Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a model to show the direct relationship of the thinning Arctic sea ice to the frequent and excessive phytoplankton blooms. The scientists also found out that around 30 percent of the ice in the Arctic Ocean may become Arctic green ice during the summer months. This is a significant number considering that it was only a mere 3 to 4 percent twenty years ago.

Published in "Science Advances," the research about Arctic green ice phytoplankton blooms was collaboration between SEAS, the University of Oxford and the University of Reading. It aims to become a guide to future expeditions to study the blooms and to determine the impact of this phenomenon on the Arctic water ecosystems.

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