LAUSR

High-albedo materials reflect more solar radiation and, thereby, alter the earth's radiative balance. Increasing pavement albedo, therefore, has been considered as a technological strategy to mitigate global warming. Previous studies have evaluated the general potential of increasing pavement albedo using global-average models. To factor this effect into life cycle assessments and other environmental evaluations, location-specific models of the albedo effect for pavements are required. An analytical approach is developed to estimate the radiative forcing (RF) building off of an existing parametric model using a novel model form and iterative solution approach. The new model is extended to estimate the corresponding global warming potential (GWP) over an analysis period of 50 years for an albedo change in a pavement surface. This was applied to quantify the GWP impacts of increasing pavement albedo in 14 cities in the U.S, representing different climate zones specified by the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Across the United States, the GWP in kg CO2 equivalent per square meter of altered surface ranges from 0.8 to 1.6 per 0.01 change in albedo; a range of more than 40%. Analysis of a hypothetical albedo change to all darker pavements in the US would produce a negative RF of a magnitude equivalent to that associated with a reduction in CO2 emissions of more than 17 Mton per year.