Albedo is the measure of the fraction of solar energy reflected by the Earth’s surface. Lighter color surfaces reflect light and have a high albedo, while darker surfaces absorb light and have a low albedo. Rapid urbanization has changed land use and surface properties, which has an effect on climate regionally and even globally. CSHub researchers are studying the impact of albedo on climate.
Topic Summaries and Information Sheets
- Urban Heat Islands (June 2019)
- Albedo Information Sheet (April 2019)
- Climate Change Mitigation Potential of Pavement Albedo (January 2018)
- Quantifying the impact of pavement reflectivity on radiative forcing and building energy demand in neighborhoods (March 2017)
- The Impact of Changes to Surface Albedo on Radiative Forcing (January 2016)
- Quantifying Climate Impacts of Surface Albedo (July 2015)
- A High-Level Analysis of Context-Dependent Albedo Effects (May 2015)
- Xu, X., Gregory, J., & Kirchain, R. (2018). "The Impact of Pavement Albedo on Radiative Forcing and Building Energy Demand: Comparative Analysis of Urban Neighborhoods." Transportation Research Record, 2672(40), 88–96.
- Xu, L., E. Monier, A. Schlosser, R. Kirchain and J. Gregory (2017). "Estimating the potential of U.S. urban infrastructure albedo enhancement as climate mitigation in the face of climate variability." Joint Program Report Series Report 319, September, 9 p.
- X. Xu, J. Gregory, R. Kirchain, “Evaluation of the Albedo-induced Radiative Forcing and CO2 Equivalence Savings: A Case Study on Reflective Pavements in Four Selected U.S. Urban Areas," Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Concrete Pavements, San Antonio, TX, August 28-September 1, 2016.
- Xu, X., Gregory J., Kirchain R., Climate Impacts of Surface Albedo: Review and Comparative Analysis. Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting, No. 16-6158. 2016.
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Schlosser, C. A., Xu, L., Xu, X., Gregory, J., & Kirchain, R. (2015). Quantifying the Impacts of Surface Albedo on Climate Using the WRF Model, Proceedings of American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2015.
- Explained: Radiative Forcing (MIT News Office, March 2010)