Ice Albedo Feedback Loop

Ice-albedo feedback (or snow-albedo feedback) is a positive feedback climate process where a change in the area of snow-covered land, ice caps, glaciers or sea ice alters the albedo. This change in albedo acts to reinforce the initial alteration in ice area. Cooling tends to increase ice cover and hence the albedo, reducing the amount of solar energy absorbed and leading to more cooling. Conversely, warming tends to decrease ice cover and hence the albedo, increasing the amount of solar energy absorbed, leading to more warming.

The effect also applies on the small scale to snow-covered surfaces. A small amount of snow melt exposes darker ground which absorbs more radiation, leading to more snowmelt.

Definition from URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice-albedo_feedback