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When seen from a distance, the ocean surface has a low albedo, as do most forests, whereas desert areas have some of the highest albedos among landforms. Most land areas are in an albedo range of 0.1 to 0.4. [14] The average albedo of Earth is about 0.3. [15] This is far higher than for the ocean primarily because of the contribution of clouds.
Vegetation has a relatively low albedo, meaning that vegetated surfaces are good absorbers of the sun's energy. Forests have an albedo of 10–15 percent while grasslands have an albedo of 15–20 percent. In comparison, sandy deserts have an albedo of 25–40 percent. [62] Land use by humans also plays a role in the regional and global climate.
The albedo of several types of roofs (lower values means higher temperatures). Reflective surfaces, or ground-based albedo modification (GBAM), is a solar radiation management method of enhancing Earth's albedo (the ability to reflect the visible, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths of the Sun, reducing heat transfer to the surface).
A 1934 map showing some of Mercury's albedo features. This is a list of the albedo features of the planet Mercury as seen by early telescopic observation.. Early telescopic observations of Mercury were based on the assumption that Mercury keeps one of its faces permanently turned toward the Sun, through the mechanism of tidal locking.
The Mojave Desert is the hottest desert in North America, located primarily in southeastern California and Southern Nevada. Its total area is 22,000 sq mi (57,000 km 2). The largest cold desert is the Great Basin Desert, which encompasses much of the northern Basin and Range Province, north of the Mojave Desert.
The modern, arid Sahara. The Sahara was not a desert during the African humid period. Instead, most of northern Africa was covered by grass, trees, and lakes. The African humid period (AHP; also known by other names) was a climate period in Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic epochs, when northern Africa was wetter than today.
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation .
In planetary geology, an albedo feature is a large area on the surface of a planet (or other Solar System body) which shows a contrast in brightness or darkness with adjacent areas. Historically, albedo features were the first (and usually only) features to be seen and named on Mars and Mercury .