Kuang, Zhiming and Yung, Yuk L. (2000) Observed albedo decrease related to the spring snow retreat. Geophysical Research Letters, 27 (9). pp. 1299-1302. ISSN 0094-8276. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140821-103238205
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Abstract
We study the impact of the spring snow retreat on albedo from 1979 to 1991 using the ultraviolet (UV) reflectivity measured by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). Over the Northern Hemisphere (NH) snowy land area that was snow covered at least once during this period, we find a 1.5% decrease over the 13 years in the springtime UV reflectivity, related to a 5 × 10^6km^² decrease in the satellite derived spring snow cover. About half of the reflectance decrease occurred over regions where snow cover and reflectance correlate at a 99% significance level. The 1.5% UV reflectivity decrease corresponds to a 1% decrease in the visible albedo over the snowy region, and a ∼2 Wm^(−2) increase in the shortwave heating when averaged over the entire NH land. Based on observed interannual reflectivity changes over the entire NH snowy land area, our study provides a direct constraint on the shortwave forcing of the spring NH snow retreat.
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| Additional Information: | © 2000 The American Geophysical Union. Paper number 1999GL011116. Received September 23, 1999; Revised February 21, 2000; Accepted March 9, 2000. This research was supported by NASA grants NAG5-7230 and NAG5-7680. The authors are grateful to S. Byrne, M. Gerstell, R. Goody, S. Leroy, H. Wang, and one anonymous reviewer for useful discussion and comments. | |||||||||
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| Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20140821-103238205 | |||||||||
| Persistent URL: | http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140821-103238205 | |||||||||
| Official Citation: | Kuang, Z., & Yung, Y. L. (2000). Observed albedo decrease related to the spring snow retreat. Geophysical Research Letters, 27(9), 1299-1302. doi: 10.1029/1999gl011116 | |||||||||
| Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | |||||||||
| ID Code: | 48771 | |||||||||
| Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | |||||||||
| Deposited By: | Joanne McCole | |||||||||
| Deposited On: | 21 Aug 2014 19:46 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 21 Aug 2014 19:46 |
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