I haven't read this yet (I am in the field on a coral atoll and have
no time right now), but I did read the abstract.
I am highly skeptical of this result, but should not say so before
reading the paper.
If this paper is correct, then perhaps darker roofs are the way to go.
On 10/28/11,
A worldwide conversion to white roofs, they found, could actually warm the
Earth slightly due a complex domino effect. Although white surfaces are cooler,
the increased sunlight they reflect back into the atmosphere by can increase
absorption of light by dark pollutants such as black carbon,
Greg
I don't think so either but I was just the messenger. But the lemmings
are smart enough to know snow retains geothermal heat. There is good
stuff at
http://www.arcticnet.ulaval.ca/pdf/talks2010/BilodeauFrederic.pdf I
even learned 'subnivean'.
Stephen
Emeritus Professor of
Greg et al
There are a number of reasons why white roofs might cause heating that are well
explained in the paper. Among them local suppression of convection and the
correlation between where the roofs are and absorbing dust particles. The roofs
we plan to whiten tend to be in places with
