Ratio of how much light is reflected back from a body
For other uses, see Albedo (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Libido.
Albedo (/ælˈbiːdoʊ/al-BEE-doh; from Latin albedo 'whiteness') is the fraction of sunlight that is diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects all incident radiation). Surface albedo is defined as the ratio of radiosity Je to the irradiance Ee (flux per unit area) received by a surface.[2] The proportion reflected is not only determined by properties of the surface itself, but also by the spectral and angular distribution of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface.[3] These factors vary with atmospheric composition, geographic location, and time (see position of the Sun).
While bi-hemispherical reflectance is calculated for a single angle of incidence (i.e., for a given position of the Sun), albedo is the directional integration of reflectance over all solar angles in a given period. The temporal resolution may range from seconds (as obtained from flux measurements) to daily, monthly, or annual averages.
Unless given for a specific wavelength (spectral albedo), albedo refers to the entire spectrum of solar radiation.[4] Due to measurement constraints, it is often given for the spectrum in which most solar energy reaches the surface (between 0.3 and 3 μm). This spectrum includes visible light (0.4–0.7 μm), which explains why surfaces with a low albedo appear dark (e.g., trees absorb most radiation), whereas surfaces with a high albedo appear bright (e.g., snow reflects most radiation).
Ice–albedo feedback is a positive feedback climate process where a change in the area of ice caps, glaciers, and sea ice alters the albedo and surface temperature of a planet. Ice is very reflective, therefore it reflects far more solar energy back to space than the other types of land area or open water. Ice–albedo feedback plays an important role in global climate change.[5] Albedo is an important concept in climate science.
^"Greenland's Ice Is Growing Darker". NASA. 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
^Pharr; Humphreys. "Fundamentals of Rendering - Radiometry / Photometry" (PDF). Web.cse.ohio-state.edu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
^Coakley, J. A. (2003). "Reflectance and albedo, surface" (PDF). In J. R. Holton; J. A. Curry (eds.). Encyclopedia of the Atmosphere. Academic Press. pp. 1914–1923. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
^Henderson-Sellers, A.; Wilson, M. F. (1983). "The Study of the Ocean and the Land Surface from Satellites". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A. 309 (1508): 285–294. Bibcode:1983RSPTA.309..285H. doi:10.1098/rsta.1983.0042. JSTOR 37357. S2CID 122094064. Albedo observations of the Earth's surface for climate research
^Budyko, M. I. (1 January 1969). "The effect of solar radiation variations on the climate of the Earth". Tellus. 21 (5): 611–619. Bibcode:1969Tell...21..611B. doi:10.3402/tellusa.v21i5.10109. ISSN 0040-2826.
Albedo (/ælˈbiːdoʊ/ al-BEE-doh; from Latin albedo 'whiteness') is the fraction of sunlight that is diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a...
The Bond albedo (also called spheric albedo, planetary albedo, and bolometric albedo), named after the American astronomer George Phillips Bond (1825–1865)...
an albedo feature is a large area on the surface of a planet (or other Solar System body) which shows a contrast in brightness or darkness (albedo) with...
In astronomy, the geometric albedo of a celestial body is the ratio of its actual brightness as seen from the light source (i.e. at zero phase angle) to...
Albedo One was an Irish horror, fantasy and science fiction magazine founded in 1993 and published by Albedo One Productions. Albedo One was widely regarded...
Albedo Anthropomorphics, or Albedo for short, is a furry comic book anthology series which was credited with starting the furry comic book subgenre that...
Cloud albedo is a measure of the albedo or reflectivity of a cloud. Clouds regulate the amount of solar radiation absorbed by a planet and its solar surface...
Albedo Space is an American satellite imaging company founded in 2020. The company is developing a very low Earth orbit satellite which will be able to...
deflect sunlight, such as by increasing the albedo of the atmosphere or the surface. An increase in planetary albedo of 1% would reduce radiative forcing by...
crater's eastern rim. Early in the orbital phase of the Dawn mission, the high albedo of these spots was speculated to be due to some kind of outgassing, and...
had been Albedo's plan to transfer Gaignun's consciousness into Jr.'s body, but Gaignun instead took over Albedo's body and threw Albedo's consciousness...
substantial climate impact. The intention is that increasing the Earth's albedo, in combination with greenhouse gas emissions reduction, carbon dioxide...
Haumea's elongated shape together with its rapid rotation, rings, and high albedo (from a surface of crystalline water ice), are thought to be the consequences...
The classical albedo features of Mars are the light and dark features that can be seen on the planet Mars through an Earth-based telescope. Before the...
concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and changes in surface albedo and solar irradiance. In more technical terms, it is defined as "the change...
Paramount's release of James Patterson's Maximum Ride. That same year, Albedo Absolute, a short-film directed by Vlad Marsavin, was released. In 2017...
necessary. The other three alchemical stages were nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), and rubedo (redness). Psychologist Carl Jung is credited with...
topography/geography. The pigmentation of snow algae reduces snow and ice albedo, which can stimulate the melting of perennial snow and ice and exacerbate...
darkens those surfaces and decreases their reflectivity (albedo). This is known as the snow/ice albedo effect. This effect results in the increased absorption...
An albedometer is an instrument used to measure the albedo (reflecting radiation) of a surface. An albedometer is mostly used to measure the reflectance...
size range of 400–1,000 km, with densities of ≈ 1.2 g/cm3 or less and albedos less than ≈ 0.2, have likely never compressed into fully solid bodies or...
assumed albedos between 4% (the albedo of Salacia) and 20% (a value above which suggests resurfacing), and the sizes objects of those albedos would need...
Earth albedo × (Earth radius / Radius of Moon's orbit)2 ] relative to the direct solar illumination that occurs for a full moon. (Earth albedo = 0.367;...