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Science 28 May 2004:
Vol. 304. no. 5675, pp. 1299 - 1301
DOI: 10.1126/science.1094070
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Reports

Changes in Earth's Reflectance over the Past Two Decades

E. Pallé,1* P. R. Goode,1,2 P. Montañés-Rodríguez,1 S. E. Koonin2

We correlate an overlapping period of earthshine measurements of Earth's reflectance (from 1999 through mid-2001) with satellite observations of global cloud properties to construct from the latter a proxy measure of Earth's global shortwave reflectance. This proxy shows a steady decrease in Earth's reflectance from 1984 to 2000, with a strong climatologically significant drop after 1995. From 2001 to 2003, only earthshine data are available, and they indicate a complete reversal of the decline. Understanding how the causes of these decadal changes are apportioned between natural variability, direct forcing, and feedbacks is fundamental to confidently assessing and predicting climate change.

1 Big Bear Solar Observatory, New Jersey Institute of Technology, 40386 North Shore Lane, Big Bear City, CA 92314, USA.
2 W. K. Kellogg Radiation Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: epb{at}bbso.njit.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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Do Satellites Detect Trends in Surface Solar Radiation?.
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