Laboratory Albedo Activities:
Wintertime
Albedo Experiment 
Using painted metal lids (i.e.
from frozen juice concentrate containers), students make
predictions and then measure melt depth over time to see how
different albedos may influence temperature and snowmelt. Choose
a sunny day for this experiment.
Using
Infrared Laser Thermometers: IR thermometers
infer temperature using thermal radiation emitted by the
object being measured. Point the thermometer at
different surfaces outside to observe how albedo (and hence
the amount of thermal radiation emitted) is influenced by the
color and nature of the surface. Infrared thermometers can be
purchased online relatively cheaply ($12-$30, google "Infrared
Thermometer").
For a more structured investigation using IR Thermometers, see the 'Surface Temperature Protocol' on the GLOBE Atmosphere Protocol webpage.
For a more structured investigation using IR Thermometers, see the 'Surface Temperature Protocol' on the GLOBE Atmosphere Protocol webpage.
UAF
Geophysical Institute's Arctic Climate Modeling Program:
K-12 Curriculum on Arctic weather and climate
• Graphing Climate Change - In this activity students graph monthly albedo for different locations in Alaska and understand how feedback loops relate to albedo and climate change.
• Albedo Lab - In this activity students measure and calculate albedo in the classroom by taking the temperature of differently colored paper.
• Graphing Climate Change - In this activity students graph monthly albedo for different locations in Alaska and understand how feedback loops relate to albedo and climate change.
• Albedo Lab - In this activity students measure and calculate albedo in the classroom by taking the temperature of differently colored paper.