The Ice-Albedo Effect

Albedo plays an important role in determining global temperature on Earth. But unlike DaisyWorld, ice is involved rather than daisies. As you have learned, snow and ice reflect more of the Sun’s radiation than a darker surface and therefore have a higher albedo. For example, water has a much lower albedo than ice. A typical albedo for open ocean water is 0.06—reflecting only 6 percent of incoming radiation—while bare ice has a typical albedo of 0.5 and reflects 50 percent. Ice covered with snow has an even higher albedo, reflecting almost all of the radiation.