The other big factor is the reflectance of snow, known as albedo. Albedo is defined as the ratio between how much light a material reflects -- to the amount of incoming light. We give different ...

The last few years have seen some of the smallest sea ice coverage, plus a look into the continued spring melt on the ...

A newly published scientific study, (“Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023,” Nature, 19 ...

In addition, BC and other absorbing aerosols deposited on snow or ice surfaces may reduce the surface albedo, leading to reduced reflectance of solar radiation, and hence a heating effect (Hansen ...

In polar regions, snow and ice cover reflect much more of the solar radiation, giving a high albedo effect. For six months the Poles receive no solar energy due to the Earth’s orbit and tilt.

The Swiss cheese holes are due to something called the albedo effect. When light falls on a surface, two things can happen. The light (and the energy it carries) can be absorbed by the surface ...

Using remote sensing, researchers from China and the United States have quantified the effects of solar farms (SFs) on albedo, vegetation, and land surface temperature (LST). Namely, they have ...

noting this percentage surpasses by far the 70-75% reflectivity offered by snow, which is the best form of albedo surface. “Reasonable paving of reflective materials on the ground can enhance ...

This massive dump of fresh snow also recharged the winter snowpack with fresh, reflective snow, increasing the snow's albedo and delaying ... to understand the net effect of atmospheric rivers ...