This paper discusses the results of measurements of the albedo of the snow–glacier surface of
Svalbard using the example of an Aldegonda glacier (the Green Fjord area) and surrounding area of the Russian settlement of Barentsburg that have been carried out in last years, including the third field phase of the International Polar Year, 2007–2008. The temporal and spatial variability of the albedo and its relationship
to the natural and anthropogenic contamination of the surface are analyzed.