[Sean Moore]

Sean Moore  asked the Naked Scientists:
Hey Chris.

Obviously I love the podcast. Only a fool couldn't.

Does the level of UV effect how quickly snow melts?

Sean Moore
-Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

What do you think?

[RD]

Although UV light contains more energy than visible light, snow is a very good reflector of UV ...

The measured UV albedo values of most natural surfaces are smaller than 10% (Feister et al., 1995; McKenzie
et al., 1996), but for fresh pure snow UV albedos near unity have been reported (Grenfell et al., 1994; Wuttke et
al., 2006).

http://www.atmos-chem-phys.org/7/2759/2007/acp-7-2759-2007.pdf

[chris]

Good summary, thanks RD. This would explain why skiing is so good for getting a tan, especially under your chin!