SMOS retrieval over forests: Exploitation of optical depth and tests of soil moisture estimates

Finally, the soil moisture retrieved over forests is investigated, reporting continental maps for Tropical areas and comparisons with ground measurements in selected forests of the US. Continental maps obtained with the new level 2 V620 algorithm cover almost all forest areas, and show seasonal variations which are dependent on climatic zones. Comparisons between soil moisture retrievals in forests and ground measurements of the US SCAN network produce worse RMSE values with respect to low vegetation areas. Significant improvements however are achieved after averaging among close nodes of the ground network.