4.1.3 Day 1, 2PM: Melting

Since we're in late autumn and approaching the winter solstice, the daytime solar energy is near its annual minimum. The solar energy heats the upper snowpack surface relatively slowly throughout the middle part of the day and begins melting the snow around noon.

Afternoon of the first day, and melting of the snowpack has begun.

What is the albedo of the snow likely to be in the early afternoon? Select the correct answer, then click Done.

The correct answer is c.

The clear skies and fresh snow result in relatively high albedos, probably in the range of 0.7 to 0.8. This means that 70 to 80% of the solar radiation is reflected back to space.