Albedo Research showed impacts of over 10%. More recently, the analysis was extended to the effects of spectral bias due to the specular reflectivity of 22 commonly occurring surface materials (both human-made and natural) and analyzes the albedo effects on the performance of seven photovoltaic materials covering three common photovoltaic system topologies: industrial (solar farms), commercial flat rooftops and residential pitched-roof applications. Because forests generally have a low albedo, (the majority of the ultraviolet and visible spectrum is absorbed through photosynthesis), some scientists have suggested that greater heat absorption by trees could offset some of the carbon benefits of afforestation (or
Single-scattering albedo Single-scattering albedo Single-scattering albedo is the ratio of scattering efficiency to total extinction efficiency (which is also termed "attenuance", a sum of scattering and absorption). Most often it is defined for small-particle scattering of electromagnetic waves. Single-scattering albedo is unitless, and a value of unity implies that all particle extinction is due to scattering; conversely, a single-scattering albedo of zero implies that all extinction is due to absorption. For spherical particles one can calculate single-scattering albedo from Mie theory and knowledge of bulk properties of material such as refractive index. For non-spherical particles one could use discrete dipole approximation or