Algae is seen thriving in holes it melts in the ice. Scientists say the natural, pinkish-red plant could be speeding up ice-melts by as much as 13 per cent. Picture: Wikipedia

It’s causing glaciers to melt faster.

A study published in the science journal Nature Communications reports the tiny algae which calls snow home has the potential to seriously accelerate melting of the ice cap.

How?

It’s in their colour.

The fields of reddish-pink algae are darker than the surrounding bright, white snow.

This means it absorbs more sunlight.

This sunlight warms the algae — and the snow around it.

The algae is nothing new. It’s been found on glaciers and pack-ice the world over.

It’s only now that its affect on snow when it blooms in the warmer summer months has been measured.

Under its soft-hued blanket, the snow and ice melts some 13 per cent faster.

This causes the shiny glaciers and snowfields — which cool the earth through reflecting sunlight — to retreat.

This means more, darker, rock and soil is left exposed — which in turn absorbs more of the sun’s energy.

The study argues the acceleration produced by the algae needs to be included in climate modelling.