Open AccessIncrease in surface albedo caused by agricultural plastic film
Author(s) -
Fan X.,
Chen H.,
Xia X.,
Yu Y.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
atmospheric science letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.951
H-Index - 45
ISSN - 1530-261X
DOI - 10.1002/asl2.556
Subject(s) - albedo (alchemy) , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , plastic film , overcast , greenhouse , meteorology , remote sensing , sky , materials science , geography , agronomy , geology , art , layer (electronics) , performance art , composite material , biology , art history
The area of agricultural greenhouses and cropland covered by plastic film has increased in China over the past three decades. Construction of large‐area plastic greenhouse potentially changes the physical and radiative properties of the surface and its albedo, thereby potentially affecting the surface energy budget and climate change. This study aims to investigate the effect of the plastic‐film cover on surface albedo based on computations with a simplified model and several field observation experiments. The results showed that surface albedo increased by ∼23.5 and ∼33.9% on clear and overcast days, respectively, if grassland was covered by plastic film. Surface albedo of bare soil covered by plastic film increased by ∼16.6% under clear sky conditions. A larger increase in surface albedo was derived for surface types with smaller surface albedo. Model calculations were in good agreement with field observations.