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TerraLens

Case study · UK

Cairngorms snow albedo

Scottish Highlands

Fresh snow bounces a large share of incoming shortwave. Bare peat does not. The ground’s colour is the first control.

A bright snow and ice surface — albedo as a lid.
Snow is a bright lid. Albedo is a number you can change with a season.NASA / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Locator · OpenStreetMap / OpenFreeMap · 57.08°, -3.67°

Albedo is the fraction of incoming shortwave a surface reflects. Fresh snow can reflect most of the beam. Dark peat and heather absorb. The energy-budget lab’s bounce arrows are this hillside in March versus August.

Arizona desert is the US pair: high Sun, often high albedo on pale sand, but dry ground that still runs hot because there is little water to evaporate.

Open this state in the lab

Exam-style question

Why does a snow-covered Cairngorm plateau heat the air less than a snow-free peat surface under the same incoming solar radiation?

Teacher hint: Higher albedo → less absorbed shortwave → less longwave and sensible heat from the surface.

Process labs

Earth’s energy budget

Sources

  • Met Office / CEH snow and peat