heijastusprosentti

Heijastusprosentti, also known as albedo, is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. It quantifies the proportion of incident solar radiation that is reflected back into space. The value of heijastusprosentti ranges from 0 to 1, or 0% to 100%. A surface with a heijastusprosentti of 0 absorbs all incoming radiation, while a surface with a heijastusprosentti of 1 reflects all of it.

Different surfaces have varying heijastusprosentti values. For instance, freshly fallen snow has a very high heijastusprosentti, often exceeding 0.8 (80%), meaning it reflects most of the sunlight. Dark surfaces like asphalt or oceans tend to have low heijastusprosentti values, absorbing a significant portion of the incoming solar energy. Forests and grasslands fall somewhere in between.

The heijastusprosentti plays a crucial role in Earth's energy balance and climate regulation. Surfaces with high heijastusprosentti help to cool the planet by reflecting solar radiation away. Conversely, areas with low heijastusprosentti absorb more heat, contributing to warming. Changes in land cover, such as deforestation or urbanization, can alter the regional and global heijastusprosentti, thereby influencing local temperatures and broader climate patterns. Understanding heijastusprosentti is therefore essential for climate modeling and predicting the impacts of environmental changes.