Escorihuela M. J. auteur aut IRD Chanzy A. auteur aut IRD Wigneron J. P. auteur aut IRD Kerr Yann auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of the soil moisture sampling depth in the parameterization of soil emission in microwave rachometry at L-band. The analysis is based on brightness temperature, soil moisture and temperature measurements acquired over a bare soil during the SMOSREX experiment. A more detailed profile of surface soil moisture was obtained with a soil heat and water flows mechanistic model. It was found that (1) the soil moisture sampling depth depends on soil moisture conditions, (2) the effective soil moisture sampling depth is shallower than provided by widely used field moisture sensors, and (3) the soil moisture sampling depth has an impact on the calibration of soil roughness model parameters. These conclusions are crucial for the calibration and validation of remote sensing data at L-band. specialized Soil moisture Passive microwave SMOS Roughness Sampling depth 126 072 114 5 995-1001 2010 0034-4257 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00004869 10.1016/j.rse.2009.12.011 0034-4257 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/PAR00004869 IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2010-05-03 2017-08-23 PAR00004869 fre