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An Observing System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) for the Aquarius/SAC-D mission that includes different models for forward and retrieval processes is presented. This OSSE is implemented to study the errors related to the use of simple retrieval models in passive microwave applications. To this end, a theoretical forward model was introduced, which is suitable to reproduce some of the complexities related to canopy vegetation scattering. So far, this OSSE has been successfully exploited to study the artifacts in the retrieved soil moisture associated to: 1) uncertainties and aggregation of the ancillary parameters needed for the retrieval, and 2) instrumental noise effects. In this paper, we attempt to model the influence of this “model asymmetry” (different forward and inverse model) in the estimated soil moisture. These asymmetries are related to the fact that the emissivity of real surfaces is complex and strongly dependent on land cover type and condition. In particular, surface covered by average to dense vegetation presents complex scattering properties, related to canopy structure. Using this theoretical model, the difficulties related to retrieving soil moisture from passive data with a simple model are studied. The accuracy of the soil moisture estimation is analyzed in order to illustrate the impact of discrepancies between both models. In general, retrieved soil moisture performs worse over dense vegetated areas and under wet conditions. Furthermore, accuracy is highly dependent on land cover.
