Snow and sea-ice albedo is known to be crucial for heat exchange at high latitudeds, because of the ice-albedo feedback. Even so, the way the snow and sea-ice albedo are parameterized in GCMs today is strongly simplified. Based on newly collected field data in addition to satellite data and existing studies and modeling, we have developed characteristic spectral albedo curves for different snow and sea-ice surfaces. The characteristic spectral albedo curves are used for improving the albedo parameterization by introducing spectral resolution and more realistic decay function.