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The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on board Nimbus 7 is used to infer the ultraviolet (UV) surface and cloud reflectance at 370 nm. Cloudless surface reflectivity was analyzed on a global basis for all surface types for several months. The UV surface reflectivity varies from 2% for some forest and grassland regions to 14% for some sandy desert areas. A notable exception is the large salt flats of Bolivia, which have a reflectivity of ∼60%. Cloud reflectivity was also analyzed for clouds located at three levels in the atmosphere, as determined by the 11.5‐μm channel of the Temperature Humidity Infrared Radiometer. Average cloud reflectivity at 370 nm ranges from 52% for low clouds (tops 7 km at the equator, decreasing to >4 km at poles).
Eck et al. (Mon,) studied this question.