How Does Albedo Work?

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The energy that earth receives from the sun is called solar energy. When solar energy is absorbed it causes changes in temperatures within the earth. Factors that influence theses varying temperatures include, albedos, latitude, and season. First, the influence of albedos is a direct effect of solar energy on earth’s temperature. An albedo is a measure of the amount of light that is reflected off of a surface without being absorbed. Another name for albedo is reflectivity. There are two ways that albedos work; they can determine how much sunlight will be absorbed and warm a surface or they can determine that the majority of the sunlight was reflected and therefore, the temperature does not change. A high albedo is a result of a surface that reflected the majority of the radiation that hit it and absorbed the rest. A low albedo is the result of a surface that reflected a small amount of the incoming radiation and absorbed the rest. That’s why in the summer for example,…show more content…
Latitude measures how close a place is to the equator; therefore, an areas latitude can indicate the climate. For example, regions near the equator receive the most sun and has the highest temperatures, making those regions hot. The further an area on earth is from the equator, the colder the temperature will be. The shape of the earth is another reason that causes the regions near the equator to be hot. Because the shape of the Earth angling away from the sunlight’s direct path the further away a place is from the equator, will result in more indirect the sunlight, making it colder as you travel further. The more direct the sunlight is, the warmer the climate will due to the heat of the sun. When the sun strikes the Earth and the rays have a longer distance to travel through the atmosphere it is receiving indirect light. That is why temperatures at the two poles of the earth are amongst the coldest places on the surface of the
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