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Climate Science Glossary
Return to glossary listAlbedo feedback
"A climate feedback involving changes in the Earth’s albedo. It usually refers to changes in the cryosphere, which has an albedo much larger (~0.8) than the average planetary albedo (~0.3). In a warming climate, it is anticipated that the cryosphere would shrink, the Earth’s overall albedo would decrease and more solar radiation would be absorbed to warm the Earth still further."
In the cryosphere (the domain of ice) the difference betwen how reflective snow & ice is compared to rock, soil, plants, water etc is substantial. In a cooler world, more snow & ice reflects more sunlight and causes more cooling.And the reverse in a warmer world.
Definition based on (revised from) IPCC AR4.
All IPCC definitions taken from Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex I, Glossary, pp. 941-954. Cambridge University Press.
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