albedo

[al-bee-doh]

noun

plural

albedos 

1. Astronomy.,  the ratio of the light reflected by a planet or satellite to that received by it.

2. Meteorology.,  such a ratio for any part of the earth's surface or atmosphere.

3. pith.

albedo

/ ælˈbiːdəʊ /

noun

1. the ratio of the intensity of light reflected from an object, such as a planet, to that of the light it receives from the sun

2. physics the probability that a neutron passing through a surface will return through that surface

albedo

1. The fraction of the total light striking a surface that gets reflected from that surface. An object that has a high albedo (near 1) is very bright; an object that has a low albedo (near 0) is dark. The Earth's albedo is about 0.37. The Moon's is about 0.12.

Word History and Origins

Origin of albedo¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from Late Latin albēdō “white (color), whiteness,” equivalent to alb(us) “white” + -ēdō noun suffix; torpedo

Word History and Origins

Origin of albedo¹

C19: from Church Latin: whiteness, from Latin albus white

Example Sentences

"Water vapor does not affect the albedo of Earth, so it did not affect our analysis of the magnitude of the aerosol forcing."

From Salon

Planetary albedo describes the percentage of incoming solar radiation that is reflected back into space after all interactions with the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.

From Science Daily

Even in these locations, however, albedo changes are likely to offset the net climate benefit by at least 20 percent in around two-thirds of cases.

From Science Daily

Other potential outcomes include reductions in albedo — or the amount of light reflected by the ice — which would accelerate human-caused warming by creating an amplifying feedback loop.

From Los Angeles Times

The loss of ice affects land surface temperatures because of albedo, which is the measure of how reflective a surface is.

From Science Daily