When sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface, some of it is absorbed and some is reflected. The relative amount (ratio) of light that a surface reflects compared to the total incoming sunlight is called albedo. A surface with a high albedo will reflect more sunlight than a surface with low albedo. Surfaces with high albedos include sand, snow and ice, and some urban surfaces, such as concrete or light-colored stone. Surfaces with low albedos include forests, the ocean, and some urban surfaces, such as asphalt.
Students watch a video introducing the concept of albedo and answer questions.
Students explore albedo, sea ice, and the relationship between changing albedo and changing sea ice using data visualizations.
Students connect day/night and seasonal cycles with albedo in the Arctic region.
Students will make a claim about whether changing albedo contributes to changes in Arctic habitats.
Students will use the NASA Earth Observations analysis tool to explore changing albedo in the Arctic compared with other areas of Earth.
Students review a video showing a global view of the top-of-atmosphere shortwave radiation from January 26 and 27, 2012 and answer the questions that follow.
Students review a visualization showing a global view of the top-of-atmosphere longwave radiation from January 26 and 27, 2012. They review the supporting text and analyze the data in the visualization to answer questions.
Students watch a video explaining albedo and its impact on Earth. The video shows visualizations of albedo across Earth and how it can change. Students will interpret the images in the video and answer questions about albedo.
Students will watch a short video that explains albedo and how it plays an important role in Earth’s Energy Budget.
