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by cma 1373 days ago
I think it is because a flat surface gets one chance to reflect by refraction and predominantly only at a shallow angles. A bunch of micro surfaces in an aggregate formation mean it could bounce around multiple times and then head out, or pass through the ice medium and then bounce back out when it exits and reflects off more. Absorption wise a greater ratio of air to ice means it will absorb less often too over the same distance through snow.
1 comments

This is correct, it's why things like solar panels have a surprisingly low albedo despite being mostly black, they are completely flat.