albedo, definition of

The fraction of the total solar radiation incident on a body that is reflected by it. Albedo can be expressed as either a percentage or a fraction of 1.

• An Analysis of the Earth’s Energy Budget
  Guest post by Philip Mulholland 1. Introduction. The following two figures, showing the principal features of the Earth’s Energy Budget, were published in 1997 by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OK-First) and are reproduced here with kind permission....
• NASA finds dirty glaciers in Alaska – may melt faster
  Over the years, scientists have captured spectacular photographs while mapping ice during NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission. Many of the photographs have featured the icy landscapes of Greenland and Antarctica, over which lengthy missions are flown...
• Recycled science: Reflective surfaces alleviate heatwaves
  From ETH ZURICH and the “obvious science” department comes this study that is little more than a recycle of what is already understood about crops and “shininess”, back in 2009 – reflective surfaces absorb less heat during...
• Surprise! Greenland ice sheet melting being driven by ice-loving algae
  From the American Geophysical Union and the “but we’ll still find a way to blame CO2, just you wait” department. It seems this is a frustrating day for climate-ice researchers, earlier, it was found that ice cores used to determine ancient...
• Study: Ice sheets may melt rapidly in response to soot from distant volcanoes
  Study of ancient eruptions shows modern ice sheets could be vulnerable From THE EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and the “dirty ice” melts faster department Volcanic eruptions have been known to cool the global climate, but they can...
• Astronomers discover that exoplanet WASP-12b is "darker than asphalt"
  Astronomers recently discovered an exoplanet they've been studying since 2008 is pitch black, reflecting almost no light. The new findings could change what the researchers previously hypothesized about WASP-12b's atmosphere. Taylor Bell, a master's student...
• The Size of Icy Reflections
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach In my continuing wanderings through the regions cryospherical, I find more side roads than main highways. In my last two posts here and here, I discussed the curious inverse relationship between temperature and ice accumulation...
• Another alarmist pillar collapses – Greenland melting due to old soot feedback loops and albedo change – not AGW
  From the EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and the “we told you so time and again at WUWT” department comes this study which not only explains the “insta-melt” in the Summer of 2012, but the ongoing melting that has been incorrectly...
• Repeated Trials, Autocorrelation, and Albedot
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach OK, quick gambler’s question. Suppose I flip seven coins in the air at once and they all seven come up heads. Are the coins loaded? Near as I can tell, statistics was invented by gamblers to answer this type of question....
• Repeated Trials, Autocorrelation, and Albedo
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach OK, quick gambler’s question. Suppose I flip seven coins in the air at once and they all seven come up heads. Are the coins loaded? Near as I can tell, statistics was invented by gamblers to answer this type of question....

Related Tags: environment

The ratio of reflected to incident light; albedo can be expressed as either a percentage or a fraction of 1. Snow covered areas have a high albedo (up to about 0.9 or 90%) due to their white color, while vegetation has a low albedo (generally about 0.1 or 10%) due to the dark color and light absorbed for photosynthesis. Clouds have an intermediate albedo and are the most important contributor to the Earth's albedo. The Earth's aggregate albedo is approximately 0.3.

• An Analysis of the Earth’s Energy Budget
  Guest post by Philip Mulholland 1. Introduction. The following two figures, showing the principal features of the Earth’s Energy Budget, were published in 1997 by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OK-First) and are reproduced here with kind permission....
• NASA finds dirty glaciers in Alaska – may melt faster
  Over the years, scientists have captured spectacular photographs while mapping ice during NASA’s Operation IceBridge mission. Many of the photographs have featured the icy landscapes of Greenland and Antarctica, over which lengthy missions are flown...
• Recycled science: Reflective surfaces alleviate heatwaves
  From ETH ZURICH and the “obvious science” department comes this study that is little more than a recycle of what is already understood about crops and “shininess”, back in 2009 – reflective surfaces absorb less heat during...
• Surprise! Greenland ice sheet melting being driven by ice-loving algae
  From the American Geophysical Union and the “but we’ll still find a way to blame CO2, just you wait” department. It seems this is a frustrating day for climate-ice researchers, earlier, it was found that ice cores used to determine ancient...
• Study: Ice sheets may melt rapidly in response to soot from distant volcanoes
  Study of ancient eruptions shows modern ice sheets could be vulnerable From THE EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and the “dirty ice” melts faster department Volcanic eruptions have been known to cool the global climate, but they can...
• Astronomers discover that exoplanet WASP-12b is "darker than asphalt"
  Astronomers recently discovered an exoplanet they've been studying since 2008 is pitch black, reflecting almost no light. The new findings could change what the researchers previously hypothesized about WASP-12b's atmosphere. Taylor Bell, a master's student...
• The Size of Icy Reflections
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach In my continuing wanderings through the regions cryospherical, I find more side roads than main highways. In my last two posts here and here, I discussed the curious inverse relationship between temperature and ice accumulation...
• Another alarmist pillar collapses – Greenland melting due to old soot feedback loops and albedo change – not AGW
  From the EARTH INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY and the “we told you so time and again at WUWT” department comes this study which not only explains the “insta-melt” in the Summer of 2012, but the ongoing melting that has been incorrectly...
• Repeated Trials, Autocorrelation, and Albedot
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach OK, quick gambler’s question. Suppose I flip seven coins in the air at once and they all seven come up heads. Are the coins loaded? Near as I can tell, statistics was invented by gamblers to answer this type of question....
• Repeated Trials, Autocorrelation, and Albedo
  Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach OK, quick gambler’s question. Suppose I flip seven coins in the air at once and they all seven come up heads. Are the coins loaded? Near as I can tell, statistics was invented by gamblers to answer this type of question....

Related Tags: climate change, global warming, environment