What is the influence of polar ice on climate?
Don’t know why someone gave Godoo a thumbs down as his answer is correct. Lighter surfaces are more reflective than darker ones. The brilliant white* of the polar ice means that pretty much all the sunlight that strikes it is reflected back into space. The more ice cover there is the more sunlight is reflected and the colder the climate becomes. It can become part of a self-perpetuating system sometimes referred to as a runaway ice age. Sunlight needs to be absorbed by surfaces on the planet before it can contribute to Earth’s natural insulation blanket – the atmosphere. Direct sunlight is of the wrong wavelength to be absorbed into the atmosphere, once it’s been re-radiated the wavelength is much longer and can be absorbed and thus keep the planet at a temperature in which we can survive. * Technically the ice isn’t white, it just appears to be (hence ice cubes in your freezer aren’t white). It’s actually more to do with the ice crystals acting as prisms and bending the sunlight – but
