Variation of albedo with solar incidence angle on planetary surfaces

Abstract While it has been known for a long time that in general the albedo of a surface depends on incidence angle, this fact is commonly neglected in many calculations of planetary surface temperatures. We show that the effect is especially pronounced for bright surfaces. For objects such as Ganymede and Io, the effect produces substantially cooler temperatures near the poles and terminators that would be calculated under the assumption of a constant albedo—a factor which may be important in determining the stability of frosts on such surfaces.

[1]  S. Squyres,et al.  Color photometry of surface features on Ganymede and Callisto , 1981 .

[2]  William M. Irvine,et al.  The shadowing effect in diffuse reflection , 1966 .

[3]  H. Horak.  Diffuse Reflection by Planetary Atmospheres. , 1950 .

[4]  J. Veverka,et al.  The photometric functions of Phobos and Deimos. III. Surface photometry of Phobos , 1977 .

[5]  T. Martin.  Mean thermal and albedo behavior of the Mars surface and atmosphere over a Martian year , 1981 .

[6]  W. Irvine,et al.  Monochromatic phase curves and albedos for the lunar disk. , 1973 .

[7]  W. Irvine.  Multiple scattering in planetary atmospheres , 1975 .

[8]  L. C. Henyey,et al.  Diffuse radiation in the Galaxy , 1940 .

[9]  J. Veverka,et al.  The Physical Meaning of Phase Coefficients , 1971 .

[10]  S. Squyres.  Surface temperatures and retention of H2O frost on Ganymede and Callisto , 1980 .

[11]  J. Hansen,et al.  Light scattering in planetary atmospheres , 1974 .

[12]  G. Paltridge,et al.  Radiative processes in meteorology and climatology , 1976 .

[13]  Thomas C. Duxbury,et al.  Photometry of Phobos and Deimos from Viking Orbiter images , 1979 .

[14]  B. Hapke.  A THEORETICAL PHOTOMETRIC FUNCTION FOR THE LUNAR SURFACE , 1963 .

[15]  J. Goguen.  A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of the Photometric Functions of Particulate Surfaces. , 1981 .

[16]  D. Morrison,et al.  Thermal properties of the Galilean satellites , 1973 .

[17]  J. Veverka,et al.  Effects of surface roughness on the photometric properties of mars , 1972 .