Which one of the following land surfaces has the highest albedo ?

Albedo is the measure of a surface's reflectivity, representing the proportion of incident sunlight reflected back into space. It is measured on a scale from 0 (perfect absorber) to 1 (perfect reflector) [2]. Fresh snow is the most reflective natural land surface, possessing an albedo ranging from 0.80 to 0.95, meaning it reflects up to 90-95% of incoming solar radiation [4]. In contrast, other land surfaces have significantly lower values: sandy deserts typically reflect about 40%, while forests (including mangroves) and rocky surfaces are much darker, reflecting only about 10-25% of sunlight [5]. Therefore, a snow-covered mountain has the highest albedo among the given options. This high reflectivity is a critical component of the Earth's energy balance, as the deposition of dark pollutants like black carbon on snow can lower its albedo and accelerate melting [6].

Sources

1. [1] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 21: Horizontal Distribution of Temperature > Albedo > p. 283
2. [2] https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/basic-page/albedo-values
3. [3] https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/topics/land-surface/albedo
4. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albedo
5. [5] Physical Geography by PMF IAS, Manjunath Thamminidi, PMF IAS (1st ed.) > Chapter 21: Horizontal Distribution of Temperature > 21. Horizontal Distribution of Temperature > p. 285
6. [6] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 17: Climate Change > What does BC do? > p. 258