Albedo

Albedo is the fraction of incoming radiation that a surface or body reflects. It ranges from zero for a perfectly absorbing surface to one for a perfectly reflecting surface.

Reflectance: Reflectance is the fraction of incident radiation reflected from a surface under specified conditions. Albedo summarizes reflected radiation, while reflectance can specify particular wavelengths and viewing angles.
Planetary albedo: Planetary albedo is the fraction of incoming stellar radiation reflected by an entire planet and its atmosphere. It applies the surface-reflection idea to a planet viewed as a whole.
Snow: Snow is frozen precipitation composed of ice crystals that accumulate on the ground. Fresh snow reflects much sunlight, making snow-covered regions high-albedo surfaces.
Ice–albedo feedback: Ice–albedo feedback is a climate feedback in which melting ice lowers reflectivity, increasing absorbed sunlight and further warming. It is the clearest self-reinforcing climate effect driven by changing surface albedo.
Absorptance: Absorptance is the fraction of incident radiation absorbed by a material. It accounts for energy taken up rather than the fraction reflected as albedo.
Bidirectional reflectance distribution function: The bidirectional reflectance distribution function describes how a surface reflects light between incoming and outgoing directions. It captures the directional behavior that a single albedo value averages over.
Bond albedo: Bond albedo is the fraction of total incident stellar energy reflected by a body across all wavelengths and directions. It is the energy-weighted albedo used in planetary energy-balance calculations.
Sea ice: Sea ice is frozen ocean water that forms, grows, and melts on the ocean surface. Its bright surface reflects sunlight, while melt ponds and open water lower the effective albedo.
Arctic amplification: Arctic amplification is the faster warming of the Arctic compared with the global average. Loss of reflective snow and ice contributes to amplified Arctic warming.
Transmittance: Transmittance is the fraction of incident radiation that passes through a material. Transparent surfaces divide incoming radiation between reflection, absorption, and transmission.

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