The albedo of Arctic leads in summer

Abstract

Leads act as windows through which solar radiation enters the upper ocean. Studies of the heat budget and ice melt require accurate parameterization of the albedo. Results from summertime measurements of albedo over leads show that under cloudy conditions the average albedo is 0.066 with a standard deviation of 0.007. The clear-sky case is more complex because the albedo is strongly dependent on wind speed at large solar zenith angles. This dependence has not been included in prior modeling efforts. We suggest a simple modification to an existing parameterization of the albedo, which includes the effect of wind speed.