The scientific community had an understanding that overall albedo decreases with declining ice, but the new study is distinctive for putting a number on the decline. (scientificamerican.com)
With regard to Dr Tobis» observation that: «there's a something on the order of a 10 % chance that we may have already passed the 2 C mark by any reasonable definition» the evidence of a study of Albedo Loss published last January appears to put the issue beyond doubt: «Observational determination of albedo decrease caused by vanishing Arctic sea ice» (Kristina Pistone, Ian Eisenman, and V. Ramanathan) (planet3.org)
«Scientists have talked about Arctic melting and albedo decrease for nearly 50 years,» said Ramanathan, a distinguished professor of climate and atmospheric sciences at Scripps who has previously conducted similar research on the global dimming effects of aerosols. (sciencedaily.com)