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

The correct answer is A snow-covered mountain.

Key Points

Albedo effect:

• A body or a surface reflects a fraction of light which is called Albedo.
• There are two types of  Albedo – terrestrial albedo and astronomical albedo.
• The normal albedo is called normal reflectance (a measure of a surface’s relative brightness when illuminated and observed vertically.)
• Albedo also varies according to the angle of incidence of the Sun Rays being higher for slating rays and lower for vertical or nearly vertical rays.
• From this, we can derive that albedo will be relatively higher during early morning and late evening because Sun rays are slanting at both times. 
• Values of Albedo:​
  • Albedo is higher in Snow or Ice.
  • Fresh snow has the largest reflection and hence the highest albedo.
  • The difference in the average albedo of Earth has an important influence on the temperature of the Earth.
  • Black soil has the lowest albedo since it absorbs the maximum amount of solar radiation.