Albedo reflectance and bi-hemispherical reflectance (e.g.,). These calculations are based on the bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), which describes how the reflectance of a given surface depends on the view angle of the observer and the solar angle. BDRF can facilitate translations of observations of reflectance into albedo. Earth's average surface temperature due to its albedo and the greenhouse effect is currently about 15 °C. If Earth were frozen entirely (and hence be more reflective), the average temperature of the planet would drop below −40 °C. If only the continental land masses became covered by glaciers, the mean temperature of the
Bond albedo phase angles from the Earth, the only reliable data for measuring their Bond albedo comes from spacecraft. The Bond albedo ("A") is related to the geometric albedo ("p") by the expression where "q" is termed the "phase integral" and is given in terms of the directional scattered flux "I"("α") into phase angle "α" (averaged over all wavelengths and azimuthal angles) as The phase angle "α" is the angle between the source of the radiation (usually the Sun) and the observing direction, and varies from zero for light scattered back towards the source, to 180° for observations looking towards the source.