Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
Correspondence
Nature 451, 887 (21 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/451887c; Published online 20 February 2008
Albedo-watching satellite needed to monitor change
Francisco P. J. Valero1 & Robert J. Charlson2
- Atmospheric Research Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0242, La Jolla, California 92093-0242, USA
- Departments of Atmospheric Sciences and Chemistry, University of Washington, Box 351640, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
Stewart Brand's Essay 'Whole Earth comes into focus' (Nature 450, 797; 2007) makes a strong case for continuous satellite observations of the "whole Earth". A key reason is that existing observations are inadequate to monitor changes in global albedo — the amount of sunlight reflected by Earth and a key determinant of Earth's climate.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).