Sentences with phrase «absorbed by snow»

By lowering albedo, soot from the Industrial Revolution raised the amount of solar radiation absorbed by snow, leading to Alpine glacier retreat.

Not exact matches

This was not a one - off event: bright snow is being replaced by dirty ice that absorbs more heat and melts faster (see Losing its sparkle).

Clouds do more than just deliver rain and snow: by absorbing and reflecting light, they help control the flow of energy around the planet.

Left unchecked, the haze could absorb solar radiation, warming the Arctic and in turn aggravating global warming by melting the ice and snow that reflect some of the Sun's rays back into space.

Not only does it warm the atmosphere by absorbing sunlight — it's also dark soot that's deposited onto ice and snow, speeding up the melting.

«The warming effect could be through the direct heating to the air, snow and sea ice by absorbing sunlight, and then accelerating the melting of snow and sea ice,» Wang said.

Directed by first - timer Mark Fergus, from a script he developed with co-screenwriter Hawk Ostby (both screenwriters for Children of Men), First Snow is a slow - moving but absorbing tale about a man forced to come to terms with who he is.

The ocean water below us slowly turned an emerald green hue, caused by the minerals in the snow and ice that absorb the other colors of the spectrum.

Since it reflects the capacity of the climate system to absorb heat, it may be influenced by the planetary albedo (sea - ice and snow) and ice - caps, which respond to temperature changes.

For example: 1) plants giving off net CO2 in hot conditions (r / t aborbing)-- see: http://www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=46488 2) plants dying out due to heat & drought & wild fires enhanced by GW (reducing or cutting short their uptake of CO2 & releasing CO2 in the process) 3) ocean methane clathrates melting, giving off methane 4) permafrost melting & giving off methane & CO2 5) ice & snow melting, uncovering dark surfaces that absorb more heat 6) the warming slowing the thermohaline ocean conveyor & its up - churning of nutrients — reducing marine plant life & that carbon sink.

The black smoke from such stoves also could be contributing to the melting of Himalayan snow and, by absorbing sunlight, can add local warming to whatever comes in a particular region from climate change.

In addition, once snow cover melts completely it often reveals underlying ice that has been darkened by dust and other particles, whose surface absorbs more solar energy, promoting heating.

However, as the snow and ice melts, it's replaced by dark land and ocean, both of which absorb energy.

ABSORBED ENERGY The solar radiation that passes through Earth's atmosphere is either reflected off snow, ice, or other surfaces or is absorbed by the Earth's ABSORBED ENERGY The solar radiation that passes through Earth's atmosphere is either reflected off snow, ice, or other surfaces or is absorbed by the Earth's absorbed by the Earth's surface.

The reason, Werner said, is because the loss of snow and ice makes the earth's surface less reflective, meaning solar radiation — or heat — is absorbed in greater amounts by the exposed dark ocean or tundra.

This increases the amount of solar radiation absorbed by the surface, which, in turn, accelerates the melting of snow and ice.

Tom Painter Research Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Specialties: Snow hydrology and water resources, energy balance of snow and ice, radiative forcing by light absorbing impurities in snow and ice, imaging spectroscopy and multispectral remote sensing, and planetary Snow hydrology and water resources, energy balance of snow and ice, radiative forcing by light absorbing impurities in snow and ice, imaging spectroscopy and multispectral remote sensing, and planetary snow and ice, radiative forcing by light absorbing impurities in snow and ice, imaging spectroscopy and multispectral remote sensing, and planetary snow and ice, imaging spectroscopy and multispectral remote sensing, and planetary ices

Fortunately, as depicted in Figure 2 (orange «thermal down surface» arrow), some of this energy does stay in the atmosphere, where it is sent back toward Earth by clouds, released by clouds as they condense to form rain or snow, or absorbed by atmospheric gases composed of three or more atoms, such as water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4).

Black carbon warms the earth by directly absorbing reflected solar radiation and also by darkening the surface of snow and ice when it is deposited there (and enhances melting).

These effects are magnified by snow and ice: by reducing snow and ice cover, warming reduces the reflectivity of the ground and allows more solar energy to be absorbed, further increasing the warming; conversely for cooling.»

Snow and ice reflect more sunlight than bare ground, meaning less solar radiation is absorbed by the surface.

During the parts of the cycles that increase that radiation on the northern hemisphere, the snow and ice melt a bit more, which reduces the amount of radiation being reflected to space, which increases the radiation being absorbed by the ground and water, warming them and in turn warming the atmosphere, which increases the warming of the oceans.

This is particularly true in the spring, when the winter's heavy snows begin to melt and can not be absorbed by the still - frozen ground, and in the summer, when heavy rainfall on already saturated ground leads to flash - flooding.