Albedo in urban and rural temperature settings

reflective power can be defined as the ratio of the essence of light that a ceratin body reflects and the amount that it absorbs (Encarta, 2008). For example, a body that rates an reflective power of 0. 3 can be construed to reflect back 30 percent of the light that falls on it, while absorbing the other 70 percent of the light (Encarta, 2008). The full term albedo is derived from the Latin term albus, or simply w bame (Dagmar Budikova, 2008).When the aim hit with the sun reflects back nigh of the cheerfulness, it is said to have a graduate(prenominal) albedo ratio (National perception Foundation, 2006). If the surface that is it by the temperateness abosrbs or takes in most of the light, it is said to have a suffering albedo (Science, 2006). Urban settings usually have low albedo since most of the light is absorbed by the alterations made by man of the inseparable landscape (Christopher Small). In rural settings, the carriage of abundant vegetation (Small).The set out vitality absorbs most of the suns light to start the process of photosynthesis necessary for the lengthiness of plants (Small). This cannot be wholly said for the urban setting, as the plant polish off in the urban firmaments is small compared to the rural environment (Small). But the presence of plant life in the urban setting does have an wedge on the air quality and the health of those living in the urban areas (Christopher Small & Roberta Balstad Miller).It is assumed therefore that a host of physical characteristics watch the albedo of a certain body (Encarta, 2008). The moon, for example, has a low albedo rating because of its rough terrain, taking in most of the sunlight that hit it (Encarta, 2008). Venus, on the other hand, reflects back a exalted degree of the sunlight that it take in, thus could be said to possess a high albedo rating (Encarta, 2008). As stated earlier, the presence of plant life in an urban setting does affect the albedo rating of the area (Small & Miller).In the New York City area, for example, there is a mix of low and albedo ratings (Small & Miller). This is due to the presence of trees in the area that are conducive to the build-up of clay and ozone in the specific location (Small & Miller). Research at the National astronautics and Space Administration (NASA) found out the the asphalt used in smoothing out parking lots and roads, and dark-colored shingles and concrete had a high absorption capacity of sunlight than the rural areas surrounding the urban areas (Krishna Ramanujan, 2007).This would go out in a higher temperature in the cities (Ramanujan, 2007). References Budikova, D. (2008). Albedo. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//www. eoearth. org/article/Albedo Miller, R. B. , Small, C. (n. d. ). Spatiotemporal monitoring of urban vegetation. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//www. ldeo. columbia. edu/small/PDF/ISRSE_SmallMiller. pdf. MSN Encarta. (2008). Albedo. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//e ncarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761587643/Albedo. htmlNational Science Foundation. (2006). Albedo. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//www. arcticice. org/albedo. htm Ramanujan, K. (2007). Scientists take big steps to measure sunlight reflected by Earth. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//www. nasa. gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/albedo. html Small, C. (n. d. ). Global analysis of urban population distributions and the physical environment. Retrieved September 15, 2008, from http//www. ldeo. columbia. edu/small/Urban/SmallUrbEnv2001. pdf.