Introduction
Albedo is a measure
of how much solar energy is reflected from a surface, and
therefore has a direct relationship with the climate (the more
solar energy reflected, instead of absorbed, the less the
climate will warm). The
albedo of a surface is influenced by a variety of factors, such
as land cover and land use, seasonal changes in vegetation,
snow, etc. Knowledge
of what is happening on the land surface and how it can
influence albedo is critical to understanding both the Earth’s
current climate and how it might change in the future.
Advanced Scientific Inquiry Steps
Below are
suggested steps for how to use scientific data that is
available online to explore the influence of land cover and
snow depth on satellite albedo measured by the MODerate
resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
for your specific location.
These steps
could be used to answer many different guiding research
questions. For example:
- How does snow influence albedo in the landscape near my school?
- How does wintertime and summertime albedo differ depending on whether or not there is snow present?
- How does the presence of snow influence the albedo in different land cover classes?
- Once there is an established snowpack, does albedo change over the course of the winter?
Step
0. Conduct an exploratory search, using the available
Data Tools (Carbon
Mapper, Biome
and Vegetation tools, Climate Data and Maps) or other resources to help you
come up with a research question.
Step 1. Pose a research question and write a hypothesis statement that can be tested with the data available.
Step
2. Find and download the data.
Snow
Data:
- Instructions to download snow data from the Soil
Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) or the SNOwpack TELemetry (SNOWTEL) network
Albedo Data:
- Use the MODIS subset query
tool - Download the PDF
Instructions to get albedo data specific to your
location
- Instructions on how to process MODIS
albedo data in Excel for analysis
- Note: make sure you are requesting the data in advance of when you need it – it may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to process your request.
- Alternative option: use the Carbon Mapper or Single Site Albedo tools to find monthly albedo at your location of interest. Just keep in mind that these only contain albedo data for the year 2000.
Land Cover Data:
- Use Carbon Mapper (Background Satellite View and the MODIS Land Cover layer), Google Maps, Google Earth, or other images to determine the land cover for your location(s).
Step 3. Analyze the data. Use spreadsheet or statistical software (e.g., Excel) to make tables, graphs, averages, etc. that will help you to answer your research question. To do this you may need to copy and paste the albedo and snow data into the same spreadsheet page.
Step 4. Synthesize your results (in written, graphical, and/or presentation format).
Step
5. Identify new research questions and return to Step
1.
