Surface Reflectivity

Question 1

what is the earth’s climate driven by

Answer 1

the earth’s climate is driven by the suns energy, with different surfaces reflecting varying amounts of radiation (albedo)

Question 2

what is earths average albedo

Answer 2

earth’s average albedo is 0.31, reflecting nearly a third of insolation back into space

Question 3

what are other location’s albedos

Answer 3

Forests, oceans, cities and deserts all have different albedos, with values ranging from 0.06 to 0.85

Question 4

what does the Earth’s heat budget involve

Answer 4

the earths heat budget involves examining the amount of suns energy reflected, absorbed, or radiated back into space

Question 5

when does the radioactive equilibrium occur

Answer 5

when the flow of insulation is balanced by an equal flow of outgoing terrestrial radiation

Question 6

what do changes in incoming or outgoing energy cause

Answer 6

disturb earths radioactive equilibrium, causing global temperatures fluctuations