Pollution and the Planetary Albedo

Addition of cloud nuclei by pollution can lead to an increase in the solar radiation reflected by clouds. The reflection of solar energy by clouds already may have been increased by the addition of man-made cloud nuclei. The albedo of a cloud is proportional to optical thickness for thin clouds, but changes more slowly with increasing thickness. The optical thickness is increased when the number of cloud nuclei is increased. Although the changes are small, the long-term effect on climate can be profound.