The “albedo” of the Earth refers to the reflectivity of Earth, most commonly measured by implementing an average reflection coefficient. What the average reflection coefficient of Earth describes is the visual brightness of the planet when seen with reflected sunlight. Numerically, the average reflection coefficient is known to be 0.39 [22].
The main effect of the magnitude of the albedo of Earth is the equilibrium temperature on Earth’s surface. Several effects can affect the albedo. The effects serve to either lower the albedo and cause warming of the Earth or raise the albedo and cause cooling of the Earth. The greenhouse effect, for example, traps infrared radiation and lowers the reflectivity (albedo) of the Earth, likely causing global warming [22]. On the other hand, a decrease in sunlight causes an increase in albedo and the effect cools Earth’s surface.
