Andi Kolari
Professor Vejdemo-Johansson
HON 223 Seminar
10/17/2021
Research Description
The aim of this research was to attempt to conduct an analysis of the earth’s reflectance. The earth reflects a portion of the sun’s light back into space. Roughly 30% of it. Using ground based light measuring instruments, scientists were able to examine the amount of light reflected from the moon, as the sun’s light is reflected off of earth, and then partially reflected off the moon back to earth. Using this method, scientist were able to measure that the Earth was reflecting about .5% less light over a 19 year period from 1998 to 2017.
Abstract vs Article
The article is much more in depth than the abstract. The abstract is extremely brief. It describes the goal of the research article as analyzing the change in the earth’s reflected light over a 19-year period. It very, very briefly describes how they did it. It describes what they found, and it describes what they believe to be a potential cause. There is also a “plain language summary”, which is essentially the same thing but with less scientific jargon. In contrast, the article is actually much more in depth. The article does everything listed above, though in slightly more depth. In addition, it provides its own alternate theories for the findings of the researchers. The article proposes that the decrease in reflection is the result of the warming of the eastern Pacific, which has reduced low-lying cloud cover, which in turn decreases the earth’s reflectiveness. The article proposes that this could also be the result of the melting of the polar ice caps, which also reflect a significant amount of light. Additionally, the article talks more about the implications of this research. Specifically, the implications regarding climate change, as the decrease in light reflection will continue to contribute to the warming of the earth.
Research vs Article
Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article. While the article gives a relatively deep description of what was discussed in the research, the actual study goes far more in depth. As an example, the article simply explains that the researchers conducted an analysis of the amount of light the earth reflects by observing the reflected light the moon reflected back to us. In the actual research journal, the authors explain that there are multiple problems with just measuring this quantity, such as the changing moon phases, seasonal changes, etc. As such, they had to meticulously account for all of these different parameters which could have thrown off what it was they were trying to calculate. Every conclusion the researchers reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, etc. A research journal will be held to the upmost scrutiny. The researchers will exhaust every resource available to them to ensure that they conducted a proper scientific experiment and their findings are true and valid. The larger scientific community will hold their findings to extreme scrutiny to ensure that the science is ethical and accurate. An article like this on the other hand, is not held to such scrutiny. It exists to provide the general public with an easier to digest version of the science, so it is far less in depth.
Sources Cited
- R. Goode et al. Earth’s albedo 1998-2017 as measured from earthshine. Geophysical Research Letters. Vol. 48, Sept. 8, 2021. doi: 10.1029/2021GL094888.
- Perkins, S. (2021, October 13). Earth is reflecting less light. it’s not clear if that’s a trend. Science News. Retrieved October 17, 2021, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/earth-reflection-light-dim-earthshine-moon-solar-radiation.
