Snow Cover & Net Radiation

Global Map Snow Cover Image 1 Global Map Snow Cover Image 2 Global Map Snow Cover Image 3 Global Map Snow Cover Image 4 Global Map Snow Cover Image 5 Global Map Snow Cover Image 6 Global Map Snow Cover Image 7 Global Map Snow Cover Image 8 Global Map Snow Cover Image 9 Global Map Snow Cover Image 10 Global Map Snow Cover Image 11 Global Map Snow Cover Image 12 Global Map Snow Cover Image 13 Global Map Snow Cover Image 14 Global Map Snow Cover Image 15 Global Map Snow Cover Image 16 Global Map Snow Cover Image 17 Global Map Snow Cover Image 18 Global Map Snow Cover Image 19 Global Map Snow Cover Image 20 Global Map Snow Cover Image 21 Global Map Snow Cover Image 22 Global Map Snow Cover Image 23 Global Map Snow Cover Image 24 Global Map Snow Cover Image 25 Global Map Snow Cover Image 26 Global Map Snow Cover Image 27 Global Map Snow Cover Image 28 Global Map Snow Cover Image 29 Global Map Snow Cover Image 30 Global Map Snow Cover Image 31 Global Map Snow Cover Image 32 Global Map Snow 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Snow Cover
Snow Cover Scale
Net Radiation
Net Radiation Scale
Global Map Net Radiation Image 1 Global Map Net Radiation Image 2 Global Map Net Radiation Image 3 Global Map Net Radiation Image 4 Global Map Net Radiation Image 5 Global Map Net Radiation Image 6 Global Map Net Radiation Image 7 Global Map Net Radiation Image 8 Global Map Net Radiation Image 9 Global Map Net Radiation Image 10 Global Map Net Radiation Image 11 Global Map Net Radiation Image 12 Global Map Net Radiation Image 13 Global Map Net Radiation Image 14 Global Map Net Radiation Image 15 Global Map Net Radiation Image 16 Global Map Net Radiation Image 17 Global Map Net Radiation Image 18 Global Map Net Radiation Image 19 Global Map Net Radiation Image 20 Global Map Net Radiation Image 21 Global Map Net Radiation Image 22 Global Map Net Radiation Image 23 Global Map Net Radiation Image 24 Global Map Net Radiation Image 25 Global Map Net Radiation Image 26 Global Map Net Radiation Image 27 Global Map Net Radiation Image 28 Global Map Net Radiation Image 29 Global Map Net 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Global Map Net Radiation Image 89 Global Map Net Radiation Image 90 Global Map Net Radiation Image 91 Global Map Net Radiation Image 92 Global Map Net Radiation Image 93 Global Map Net Radiation Image 94 Global Map Net Radiation Image 95 Global Map Net Radiation Image 96 Global Map Net Radiation Image 97 Global Map Net Radiation Image 98 Global Map Net Radiation Image 99 Global Map Net Radiation Image 100 Global Map Net Radiation Image 101 Global Map Net Radiation Image 102 Global Map Net Radiation Image 103 Global Map Net Radiation Image 104 Global Map Net Radiation Image 105 Global Map Net Radiation Image 106 Global Map Net Radiation Image 107 Global Map Net Radiation Image 108 Global Map Net Radiation Image 109 Global Map Net Radiation Image 110 Global Map Net Radiation Image 111 Global Map Net Radiation Image 112 Global Map Net Radiation Image 113 Global Map Net Radiation Image 114 Global Map Net Radiation Image 115 Global Map Net Radiation Image 116 Global Map Net Radiation Image 117 Global Map Net Radiation Image 118 Global Map Net Radiation Image 119 Global Map Net Radiation Image 120 Global Map Net Radiation Image 121 Global Map Net Radiation Image 122 Global Map Net Radiation Image 123 Global Map Net Radiation Image 124 Global Map Net Radiation Image 125 Global Map Net Radiation Image 126 Global Map Net Radiation Image 127 Global Map Net Radiation Image 128 Global Map Net Radiation Image 129 Global Map Net Radiation Image 130 Global Map Net Radiation Image 131 Global Map Net Radiation Image 132 Global Map Net Radiation Image 133 Global Map Net Radiation Image 134 Global Map Net Radiation Image 135 Global Map Net Radiation Image 136 Global Map Net Radiation Image 137 Global Map Net Radiation Image 138 Global Map Net Radiation Image 139 Global Map Net Radiation Image 140 Global Map Net Radiation Image 141 Global Map Net Radiation Image 142 Global Map Net Radiation Image 143 Global Map Net Radiation Image 144 Global Map Net Radiation Image 145 Global Map Net Radiation Image 146 Global Map Net Radiation Image 147 Global Map Net Radiation Image 148 Global Map Net Radiation Image 149 Global Map Net Radiation Image 150 Global Map Net Radiation Image 151 Global Map Net Radiation Image 152 Global Map Net Radiation Image 153 Global Map Net Radiation Image 154 Global Map Net Radiation Image 155 Global Map Net Radiation Image 156 Global Map Net Radiation Image 157 Global Map Net Radiation Image 158 Global Map Net Radiation Image 159 Global Map Net Radiation Image 160 Global Map Net Radiation Image 161 Global Map Net Radiation Image 162 Global Map Net Radiation Image 163 Global Map Net Radiation Image 164 Global Map Net Radiation Image 165 Global Map Net Radiation Image 166 Global Map Net Radiation Image 167 Global Map Net Radiation Image 168 Global Map Net Radiation Image 169 Global Map Net Radiation Image 170 Global Map Net Radiation Image 171 Global Map Net Radiation Image 172 Global Map Net Radiation Image 173 Global Map Net Radiation Image 174 Global Map Net Radiation Image 175 Global Map Net Radiation Image 176 Global Map Net Radiation Image 177 Global Map Net Radiation Image 178 Global Map Net Radiation Image 179 Global Map Net Radiation Image 180 Global Map Net Radiation Image 181 Global Map Net Radiation Image 182 Global Map Net Radiation Image 183 Global Map Net Radiation Image 184 Global Map Net Radiation Image 185 Global Map Net Radiation Image 186 Global Map Net Radiation Image 187 Global Map Net Radiation Image 188 Global Map Net Radiation Image 189 Global Map Net Radiation Image 190 Global Map Net Radiation Image 191 Global Map Net Radiation Image 192 Global Map Net Radiation Image 193 Global Map Net Radiation Image 194 Global Map Net Radiation Image 195 Global Map Net Radiation Image 196 Global Map Net Radiation Image 197 Global Map Net Radiation Image 198 Global Map Net Radiation Image 199 Global Map Net Radiation Image 200 Global Map Net Radiation Image 201 Global Map Net Radiation Image 202 Global Map Net 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Earth's climate, including its average surface temperature, depends on the balance between incoming and outgoing energy. Energy comes in to the system when sunlight penetrates the top of the atmosphere. Energy goes out in two ways: reflection by clouds, aerosols, or the Earth's surface; and thermal radiation — heat emitted by the surface and the atmosphere, including clouds. The balance between incoming and outgoing energy is called net flux. Snow on the ground can dramatically change Earth's net flux by increasing the amount of sunlight the ground reflects.

The snow cover map shows the fraction of an area covered by snow on a monthly basis. Measurements were made by the MODIS sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite. Gray indicates land areas with no snow, darkest blue represents minimal snow cover, and solid white indicates 100 percent snow cover. Because MODIS relies on visible light to assess snow cover, the sensor cannot collect data over the highest latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during winter when no sunlight reaches the polar region.

The map of net flux shows monthly changes in the balance of incoming and outgoing energy on Earth as measured by the Clouds and the Earth Radiant Energy System (CERES) sensor on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. Places where the amounts of incoming and outgoing energy were in balance are white. Places where more energy was coming in than going out (energy surplus) are orange. Places where less energy was coming in than going out (energy deficit) are purple.

The most obvious pattern in both maps is the way they both change with the seasons. The comparison starts in late summer in the Northern Hemisphere. As the September equinox approaches, a zone of positive net flux (more energy coming in than going out) is nearly centered over the equator. As the season changes into winter, Northern Hemisphere snow cover increases. Meanwhile, the zone of positive net flux shifts to the Southern Hemisphere , and a swath of negative net flux (more energy going out than coming in) appears in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The pattern reverses on the March equinox.

The influence of snow cover on net flux is most clearly demonstrated in areas of permanent snow cover: Greenland and Antarctica. Snow is so reflective that even on the December and June solstices — when alternate hemispheres are receiving the maximum amount of direct sunlight they will receive all year — the net flux of these permanently snow-covered places is still zero or slightly negative. In December, the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica has an energy surplus (red): it is absorbing more energy from incoming sunlight than it is reflecting or emitting as heat. But Antarctica itself remains yellow, which means that incoming and outgoing energy are in balance. This balance is possible because the snowy surface reflects so much more incoming sunlight than the dark blue waters of the ice-free ocean. A similar pattern appears over Greenland in June, when the surrounding area is red (energy surplus) while Greenland itself is yellow-green (slightly negative net flux).

View, download, or analyze more of these data from NASA Earth Observations (NEO):
Snow Cover
Net Radiation