The Earth planetary albedo surge in December 2020 validated using a
weather prediction model
Abstract
The focus here is on the Earth’s planetary albedo estimates derived from
the data of Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard NOAA’s
Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The estimates indicate a
short-lived albedo surge with an instantaneous value of $0.350$ on the
5th of December 2020 and a 5-day average above $0.330$. A numerical
weather prediction model-based (OpenIFS of ECMWF) estimate confirms the
EPIC-based maximum in December 2020 but remains notably lower (maximum
at $0.327$). The discrepancy may be explained by the
Earth–Satellite–Sun geometry since the DSCOVR satellite was very near
the Lagrange point L1 and received the Earth outgoing short-wave
radiation close to backscattering. In this conditions, the angular
distribution model based on Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System
(CERES) and the associated footprint identification are prone to
uncertainties.