Quantifying the Impacts of Surface Albedo on Climate Using the WRF Model

Abstract:

Surface albedo is an important part of the energy budget in shaping local and regional climate. It could also be a potential tool to mitigate the anthropogenic effect on climate change. However, the current level of scientific understanding of surface albedo on global warming potential is medium to low. In order to investigate the anthropogenic impact of surface albedo on climate, different scenarios of urban surface albedo over continental US using the WRF model are simulated.

In this study, the change in surface albedo applies to rooftops, pavements, and walls of urban land cover grid cells. The two groups of simulations (low and high albedo) were compared to determine the impacts of elevating urban surface albedo and to account for the uncertainty in the errors or noise introduced by the slightly different initial conditions. The results are represented as the differences in surface temperature and the top of the atmosphere radiation between the two scenarios when urban surface albedos are elevated from 0.15 to 0.40. The ensemble mean of all potential outcomes as a whole, instead of individual initial conditions, shows that the impact of elevating surface albedo has a cooling effect that is robust at both local and regional scales during the summer season.

More refined analyses of urban areas will provide insights on surface albedo impacts in specific regions. Future analyses may address changes in CO2 equivalence.