Albedo Effect
POSITIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM a chain reaction where small change creates an effect that causes an even bigger change m THE ALBEDO ability of a surface to reflect light REFLECTED REFLECTED REFLECTED 40% 10% 90% SOIL ALBEDO SNOW ALBEDO OCEAN ALBEDO The albedo of ocean water is much Exposed land is darker coloured and absorbs more energy. As the ice melts, more land is exposed. As a result it absorbs more heat, melting more ice. A small amount of snow melt exposes darker ground which absorbs more radiation, leading to more snow melt. lower, so it absorbs the rays, trap- ping the heat. The more sea water is exposed, and the less sunlight is reflected, causing temperatures to rise, and causing more ice to melt. 60% ABSORBED 90% ABSORBED 10% ABSORBED AREA 836K bedrock 656K ice sheet snow if melts 10% 20ft WORLDS N MELTED sea level fresh water RISE Area the size of France Greenland Ice Sheet Albedo percentage of reflectivity 81.8% 81% 80.5% 80% 80.1% 79.5% 79.2% 78.9% 78.5% 77.5% 76% 75.9% INCREASING MELTING RATE 6600 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 SQUARE MILES 2010 GREENLAND. PER YEAR
Albedo Effect
Source
polarseeds.orgCategory
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