Imagine a scenario where the albedo of the Earths surface significantly increases due to widespread ice formation. What would be the most likely consequence of this change on global temperatures and weather patterns?

Question

1)Ocean currents would become faster, resulting in warmer ocean temperatures worldwide
2)global temperatures would decrease, potentially leading to a cooling climate and altered precipitation patterns
3)global temperatures would rise due to increased absorption of solar radiation
4)weather patterns would become more stable, leading to fewer extreme weather events

Answer 1

In the scenario where the albedo of the Earth's surface significantly increases due to widespread ice formation, the most likely consequence would be:

2) global temperatures would decrease, potentially leading to a cooling climate and altered precipitation patterns.

Increased albedo means that more sunlight is reflected back into space rather than being absorbed by the Earth's surface. This would lead to a decrease in global temperatures. The cooling could, in turn, disrupt existing weather patterns and precipitation distributions, potentially causing various climatic shifts and changes in ecosystems.