The albedo effect refers to when white space on planet Earth—represented by polar ice caps and other large ice sheets—reflects the Sun’s rays back into the atmosphere. The word albedo is taken from the Latin term for “whiteness.” As the ice sheets melt, less white space on the planet is available to reflect these rays back into the atmosphere, so the Earth absorbs heat and radiation faster—and thus warms faster.
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The Albedo Effect Term Timeline in The Uninhabitable Earth
The timeline below shows where the term The Albedo Effect appears in The Uninhabitable Earth. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part II, Elements of Chaos, Chapter 3: Drowning
...of all the carbon produced by humanity since the dawn of industrialization. Losing the “ albedo effect ,” in which white swaths of ice reflect sunlight back into space rather than absorbing...
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