In arid environments, specific microwave signatures have been observed with the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). For a given diurnal change in surface skin temperature, the corresponding change in the microwave brightness temperature is smaller than expected. With the help of a one-dimensional, time-dependent heat conduction model, this behavior is explained by microwave radiation coming from different depths in the soil, depending on the soil type and on the microwave radiation frequency. Using the 8-times daily estimates of the surface skin temperature by the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and a simple Fresnel model, collocated month-long time series of the SSM/I brightness temperatures and the surface skin temperatures give a consistent estimate of the effective microwave emissivity and penetration depth parameters. Results are presented and analyzed for the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula, for July and November 1992. The case of the Australian desert is also briefly mentioned. Assuming a reasonable thermal diffusivity for the soil in desert areas, the microwave radiation is estimated to come from soil layers down to depths of at least five wavelengths in some locations. Regions where the microwave radiation comes from deeper soil layers also have large microwave emissivity polarization differences and large visible reflectances, suggesting that these areas correspond to sand dune fields. Two soil classification data sets show good correspondence of sand dunes and the microwave signature of significant penetration. This suggests that this analysis of microwave observations, along with other remote sensing technics, can be used to map the sand dunes in large, poorly surveyed deserts; a map of the sand dune fields in the Sahara and Saudi Arabia is derived from SSM/I observations. ¿ 1999 American Geophysical Union