  A controlling factor in the seasonal and climatological evolution of the sea
ice cover is its albedo $\alpha$. Here we analyze Arctic data from the Advanced
Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Polar Pathfinder and assess the
seasonality and variability of broadband albedo from a 23 year daily record. We
produce a histogram of daily albedo over ice covered regions in which the
principal albedo transitions are seen; high albedo in late winter and spring,
the onset of snow melt and melt pond formation in the summer, and fall freeze
up. The bimodal late summer distribution demonstrates the combination of the
poleward progression of the onset of melt with the coexistence of perennial
bare ice with melt ponds and open water, which then merge to a broad peak at
$\alpha \gtrsim $ 0.5. We find the interannual variability to be dominated by
the low end of the $\alpha$ distribution, highlighting the controlling
influence of the ice thickness distribution and large-scale ice edge dynamics.
The statistics obtained provide a simple framework for model studies of albedo
parameterizations and sensitivities.
