S. Nemesure et al., IMPACT OF CLOUDS ON THE SHORTWAVE RADIATION BUDGET OF THE SURFACE ATMOSPHERE SYSTEM FOR SNOW-COVERED SURFACES, Journal of climate, 7(4), 1994, pp. 579-585
Recent data from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) have rai
sed the question as to whether or not the addition of clouds to the at
mospheric column can decrease the top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) albedo o
ver bright snow-covered sur-faces. To address this issue, ERBE shortwa
ve pixel measurements have been collocated with surface insolation mea
surements made at two snow-covered locations: the South Pole and Saska
toon, Saskatchewan. Both collocated datasets show a negative correlati
on (with solar zenith angle variability removed) between TOA albedo an
d surface insolation. Because increased cloudiness acts to reduce surf
ace insolation, these negative correlations demonstrate that clouds in
crease the TOA albedo at both snow-covered locations.