GCOS Essential Climate Variables (ECV)
Terrestial/ECV T8 Albedo & Reflectance Anisotropy

Surface Albedo is both a forcing variable controlling the climate and a sensitive indicator of environmental degradation. Albedo varies in space and time as a result of both natural processes (e.g. changes in solar position, snowfall and vegetation growth) and human activities (e.g. clearing and planting forests, sewing and harvesting crops, burning rangeland) (Implementation Plan for the Global Observing Systems for Climate in Support of the UNFCCC - GCOS-92, WMO/TD No. 1219 - October 2004). Since albedo depends on both the unique anisotropy of the surface (related to the intrinsic composition and structure of the land cover) and the atmospheric condition at any time, remote sensing offers the only viable method of measuring and monitoring the global heterogeneity of albedo (Schaaf et al. 2006). The data sets below are referenced on page 6 of the ECV T8 Albedo - Assessment of the Status of the Development of the Standards for the Terrestial Essential Climate Variables (ECV), Version 12, May 7, 2009 (GTOS-63). More at ECV T8 Albedo web page from the FAO/GTOS web site.

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