‘Albedo’ is Latin, meaning whiteness. The albedo of a surface is the fraction of the incident sunlight that the surface reflects. Radiation that is not reflected is absorbed by the surface. The absorbed energy raises the surface temperature, evaporates water, melts and sublimates snow and ice, and energizes the turbulent heat exchange between the surface and the lowest layer of the atmosphere. The surface albedo is a key ingredient in the remote sensing of surface and atmospheric properties from space. 

Source: J A Coakley, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA. Cap. 9 Reflectance and albedo, surface. Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences (2003) Elsevier Science Ltd

http://curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter9/Ency_Atmos/Reflectance_Albedo_Surface.pdf