ALBUQUERQUE – What does Albuquerque have in common with Paris, Singapore, Trento, Italy and Haifa, Israel?

 

They’re all participating in an experiment this month that involves individuals, white sheets and satellites passing overhead. And the results may just help scientists get one step closer to understanding global warming.

 

Albuquerque, one of just 19 cities across the globe involved in the experiment, will have its chance Thursday to shine.

 

Families and individuals are invited to join museum staff members at Tiquex Park across from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science  to make a 50-foot-by-50-foot square of white on the green soccer field, which will be photographed at 11:34 a.m. and 12.:02 p.m., respectively, as two NASA satellites pass overhead.

 

The idea is to measure the light reflected by these artificial white spots in an attempt to simulate the importance of maintaining the world’s largest natural white reflectors: the polar ice caps.

 

The "Albedo Experiment" was created through a partnership between NASA  and the International Action on Global Warming  (IGLO). The satellite photography started May 1 at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond and will end June 9 with a photographic pass over France.

 

Albuquerque is one of six U.S. cities to participate in the experiment that involves a dozen nations, spannning the globe from Norway, Sweden and Finland to Australia and Singapore.

 

Tish Morris, senior education specialist at the museum, encourages anyone interested to "just show up" at about 10:30 a.m., preferably with a white sheet and dressed in light clothing to maximize the effect. Wear sunblock and a hat and bring water. The museum will hold activities in conjunction with the pass-over, including a demonstration on just what albedo is.

 

Albedo comes from the Latin word "albus", which means white. (Schoolchildren should find this fascinating, and easy to remember, thanks to J.K. Rowling’s fictional white-bearded headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.)

 

Photographs taken by the satellites will be compared to images taken a year before. The idea is to help bring attention and understanding to the role of melting polar ice caps during International Polar Year. As the caps melt, the white area decreases, which in turn decreases the earth’s ability to reflect the sun’s rays and to keep the earth cool.

 

Morris said the museum will schedule a public event sometime in the future to explain the experiment’s results. IGLO’s Web site also offers a way for the ambitious to conduct an Albedo Experiment at home.

 

The New Mexico museum is participating as a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, which is a partner in the experiment.

 

In addition to those cities listed above, other cities participating in the experiment are: Ocala, Fla., Richmond and Farmville, Va.; Peoria, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio; Cardiff, Wales; Oslo, Norway; Mechelen, Belgium; Vantaa, Finland; Mohash and Canberra, Australia; Stockholm and Lulea, Sweden; and Boulogne-ser-mer, France.