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Albedo of Intercepted Snow
Author(s) -
Leonard Raymond E.,
Eschner Arthur R.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr004i005p00931
Subject(s) - snow , albedo (alchemy) , environmental science , shortwave radiation , atmospheric sciences , canopy , radiation , meteorology , geology , geography , art , performance art , art history , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics
Incident and reflected shortwave radiation above a red pine plantation was measured at 30‐minute intervals for two days after a 12‐inch snowfall. Maximum albedo was less than 20% of incident radiation, markedly lower than the 70–90% observed for fresh snow on the ground and commonly assumed to apply to intercepted snow. Thus, energy available for evaporation of intercepted snow may be 4 times greater than previously supposed. As intercepted snow ripened, albedo decreased and eventually approached summertime values once the snow left the upper part of the canopy.