Albedo

The albedo of the Earth-Atmosphere system is the fraction of solar energy that is reflected into space. Its value is between 0 and 1. The more reflective a surface, the greater its albedo. The factors that contribute to the Earth's albedo are: clouds, snow and ice-covered surfaces and aerosols. For example, the albedo of fresh snow is 0.87, meaning that 87% of solar energy is reflected by this type of snow.