Sensitivity of bare soil albedo to surface soil moisture on the moraine of the Zongo glacier (Bolivia)

Abstract : The dependence of bare soil albedo on soil water content is investigated using in situ data collected on the moraine of an Andean glacier (Bolivia). This study demonstrates a high negative correlation between the two variables that is best approximated by an exponential function, in agreement with previous studies. More importantly, the average snow-free albedo value during the rainy season is 40% lower than during the dry season (0.16 vs. 0.26). These results are relevant for climate and land surface modeling applications, where bare soil albedo is often considered as a constant parameter.