albedo

American  

[al-bee-doh] / ælˈbi doʊ /

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.

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albedo British  

/ 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

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albedo Scientific  

/ ăl-bē′dō /

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.

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Etymology

Origin of albedo

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

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

One trend appears to have significantly affected the reduced planetary albedo: the decline in low-altitude clouds in the northern mid-latitudes and the tropics.

From Science Daily

The researchers provide a tool practitioners and land managers can use to determine just how much of a problem albedo is for any reforestation or afforestation project on the globe.

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