Factors of Climate
SURFACE ALBEDO
What does it control?
What are the effects when it changes?
Can Humans alter this factor or process? If so, how?
- TEMPERATURE 🔺
- More Ice = cooling from reflection
- Less Ice or more dark surfaces = warming from sun’s energy absorption
- Surface of Albedo is the Earth's ability to reflect (reflectivity). The lower the albedo score, the more radiation from the sun gets absorbed by the planet, and the temperatures will rise. If the albedo has an higher score, the earth will reflect more radiation, and the earth's temperature will cool.
What are the effects when it changes?
- Freezing = lowers sea levels
- Thawing = increase in sea levels
- Living Organisms-habitat change
- Ocean Currents-changes upwelling pattern, drought or flooding
- When you have a snow covered area, it reflects a lot of radiation creating a cooling effect for the earth. But then when the snow covered area warms and melts, the albedo goes down. More sunlight is absorbed in the area and the temperatures increase.
Can Humans alter this factor or process? If so, how?
- YES, Humans can change GHG amounts changing the temp-causing ice melt.
- Agriculture changes the color of the surface and GHG.
- Development of cities and roads changes surface color.
- Deforestation changes color of the surface.
- The initial impact of humans on the earth’s surface albedo is believed to be quite small, however, the use of blacktops verses lighter surfaces could collectively make a difference.
- The loss of glaciers and snow covered areas will decrease the overall albedo of the earth, causing a general warming effect.
- The release of particles (aerosols) from industrial and agricultural practices-these sunlight scattering and absorbing particles decreases albedo over land, causing a warming and could increase albedo over water, causing a cooling; they also change stability of lower atmosphere.
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