The Earth planetary albedo surge in December 2020 validated using a weather prediction model

The focus here is on the Earth’s planetary albedo estimates derived from the data of Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) onboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR). The estimates indicate a short-lived albedo surge with an instantaneous value of $0.350$ on the 5th of December 2020 and a 5-day average above $0.330$. A numerical weather prediction model-based (OpenIFS of ECMWF) estimate confirms the EPIC-based maximum in December 2020 but remains notably lower (maximum at $0.327$). The discrepancy may be explained by the Earth–Satellite–Sun geometry since the DSCOVR satellite was very near the Lagrange point L1 and received the Earth outgoing short-wave radiation close to backscattering. In this conditions, the angular distribution model based on Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) and the associated footprint identification are prone to uncertainties.