Thursday, August 11, 2011

What causes the wavelength of incoming solar energy to change when reflected from a surface?

When soil reflects incoming solar radiation, the emitted radiation is a shorter wavelength than the incoming wavelength. Is this to do with the amount that is absorbed or is there some other mechanism driving the change in wavelength? Does the emitted wavelength differ depending on the reflecting surface (e.g. ice, forest canopy etc) or is it more or less the same?

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