New Study Uncovers Key Error in Climate Models: Earth’s Albedo Overestimated

Their revision incorporates the impact of previously neglected physical properties in ice.
As global temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change, precise computerized climate models will be crucial in shedding light on how our climate will continue to evolve in the coming years.

In a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, a team led by researchers from the UC Irvine Department of Earth System Science and the University of Michigan Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering reveal how a climate model commonly used by geoscientists currently overestimates a key physical property of Earth’s climate system called albedo, which is the degree to which ice reflects planet-warming sunlight into space.