Why are clouds and polar ice easier to see from space than green landscapes?

Clouds and polar ice are easier to see from space than green landscapes because they possess a much higher albedo. Albedo is a measure of the fraction of light or solar radiation reflected by a surface back into space.12

Surfaces with high albedo, such as fresh snow and ice, are highly reflective, often returning 40 to 80 percent of incident solar radiation to space. Similarly, clouds are highly efficient at scattering visible light, typically reflecting about 50 percent of solar radiation, and up to 80 percent when the clouds are thick. Because these surfaces reflect a large portion of the light that hits them, they appear bright when viewed from above.3

In contrast, green landscapes—such as forests—and dark water surfaces have low albedo, meaning they are more absorbent and reflect significantly less light. Because they absorb more solar energy rather than reflecting it, they appear darker and are less distinct from space compared to the highly reflective, bright surfaces of ice and cloud cover.23