The color of soil reflecting the Sun’s rays affects the Earth’s climate and water cycle. Using satellite data that senses many wavelengths improves soil reflectivity estimates, especially in deserts.
albedo
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Munching Moose Cool Forest Floors
By making clear-cut forests patchier, moose create a reflective surface that bounces back sunlight and keeps temperatures down.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
AeroCom Models Improved with Aerosol and Albedo Constraints
Satellite data has been used to correct the aerosol loading and land surface albedo in several AeroCom models, which has improved shortwave flux biases between models and observations.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Is Earth’s Albedo Symmetric Between the Hemispheres?
The two hemispheres feature the same planetary albedo despite a larger land fraction in the north, because storms over the southern ocean are cloudier than their northern counterparts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mapping Ice Algal Blooms from Space
Satellite data reveal how colorful algae are melting the Greenland ice sheet.
Posted inNews
Ice Drove Past Indo-Pacific Climate Variance
Researchers used both terrestrial and marine proxy data to reconstruct the dramatic and dynamic climatic changes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tailoring Aerosol Injections to Achieve Desired Climate Effects
Two-dimensional simulations of sulfate aerosol injections suggest that solar geoengineering projects can be customized to maximize solar reflection and help achieve potential climate objectives.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
On-the-Ground Measurements Overestimate Earth’s Albedo
Weather stations can be used to calibrate and validate albedo measurements from satellites, but they fail to account for variability across landscapes, overestimating how reflective our planet is.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The Competing Climate Effects of Elevation and Albedo
Variations in surface reflectivity are as important as surface elevation changes in determining regional climate at nonpolar latitudes, according to a new modeling study.