Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-169-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/gi-7-169-2018
Research article
 | 
18 Jun 2018
Research article |  | 18 Jun 2018

Technical note: A low-cost albedometer for snow and ice measurements – theoretical results and application on a tropical mountain in Bolivia

Thomas Condom, Marie Dumont, Lise Mourre, Jean Emmanuel Sicart, Antoine Rabatel, Alessandra Viani, and Alvaro Soruco

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Short summary
This study presents a new instrument called a low-cost albedometer (LCA) composed of two illuminance sensors. The ratio between reflected vs. incident illuminances is called the albedo index and can be compared with actual albedo values. We demonstrate that our system performs well and thus provides relevant opportunities to document spatiotemporal changes in the surface albedo from direct observations at the scale of an entire catchment at a low cost.