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QLDGeographyQuick questions
Unit 3: Responding to land cover transformations
Quick questions on Surface energy balance and albedo for QCE Geography Unit 3
2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the components of the surface energy balance?Show answer
Incoming solar (shortwave) radiation hits the surface. Some is reflected straight back; the rest is absorbed and re-emitted. The energy that is absorbed leaves the surface in three main ways: as reflected and emitted radiation, as sensible heat (warming the air directly, felt as temperature) and as latent heat (energy used to evaporate water, which cools the surface). The split between these flows depends almost entirely on the land cover.
What is albedo?Show answer
Albedo is the proportion of incoming solar radiation a surface reflects, from 0 (perfect absorber) to 1 (perfect reflector). Fresh snow and ice have very high albedo and reflect most sunlight; forests have low albedo and absorb most of it; bare soil, crops and deserts sit in between. Changing land cover changes albedo. Clearing dark forest for pale cropland raises albedo, reflecting more energy.
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