A global surface albedo model.

Abstract

We have shown in the past that the radiative-convective energy balance atmospheric model used at the General Motors Research Laboratories in our atmospheric physics research is extremely sensitive to the input value of surface albedo used. In responce to this we developed a new global model of the surface albedo based on a detailed analysis of land use. The model has been used to determine the average surface albedo of the earth's surface in latitudinal bands for the four season of the year (January-March, April-June, July-September and October-December). Authors