Articles | Volume 21, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9887-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9887-2021
Review article
 | 
01 Jul 2021
Review article |  | 01 Jul 2021

CO2-equivalence metrics for surface albedo change based on the radiative forcing concept: a critical review

Ryan M. Bright and Marianne T. Lund

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Cited articles

Akbari, H., Menon, S., and Rosenfeld, A.: Global cooling: increasing world-wide urban albedos to offset CO2, Climatic Change, 94, 275–286, 2009. 
Allen, M. R., Fuglestvedt, J. S., Shine, K. P., Reisinger, A., Pierrehumbert, R. T., and Forster, P. M.: New use of global warming potentials to compare cumulative and short-lived climate pollutants, Nat. Clim. Change, 6, 773–776, https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2998, 2016. 
Allen, M. R., Shine, K. P., Fuglestvedt, J. S., Millar, R. J., Cain, M., Frame, D. J., and Macey, A. H.: A solution to the misrepresentations of CO2-equivalent emissions of short-lived climate pollutants under ambitious mitigation, npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 1, 16, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-018-0026-8, 2018. 
Bala, G., Duffy, P. B., and Taylor, K. E.: Impact of geoengineering schemes on the global hydrological cycle, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105, 7664, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0711648105, 2008. 
Bellouin, N. and Boucher, O.: Climate response and efficacy of snow albedo forcings in the HadGEM2-AML climate model, Hadley Centre Technical Note, HCTN82, UK Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom, 8, 2010. 
Short summary
Humans affect the reflective properties (albedo) of Earth's surface and the amount of solar energy that it absorbs, in turn affecting climate. In recent years, a variety of climate metrics have been applied to characterize albedo perturbations in terms of their CO2-equivalent effects, despite the lack of scientific consensus surrounding the methods behind them. We review these metrics, evaluate their (de)merits, provide guidance for future application, and suggest avenues for future research.
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