On the importance of interpolation schemes for albedo data from local to global grid

Surface albedo has a key role in Earth’s radiation balance. As vegetation cover is influencing the albedo of solid surfaces, it is clear that land cover changes are leading to changes in the radiation balance and further are influencing the whole Earth’s energy budget. It is obvious, that a forested area reflects sunlight differently compared to a sparsely vegetated area of shrubs. Different studies have shown, that certain land cover types (even compounds) have a characteristic annual cycle of the albedo (Moody et al. 2005 and Preuschmann, 2012). An annual cycle for one land cover type might vary in a year about 2%. The difference of the surface albedo of a forested area in summer to an agricultural area at the same time is only about 0.5%.