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In this study we tested the feasibility of the thermal infrared (TIR) wavelength region (within the atmospheric window between 8 and 11.5 µm) together with the traditional solar reflective wavelengths for quantifying soil properties for coarse-textured soils from the Australian wheat belt region. These soils have very narrow ranges of texture and organic carbon contents. Soil surface spectral signatures were acquired in the laboratory, using a directional emissivity spectrometer (µFTIR) in the TIR, as well as a bidirectional reflectance spectrometer (ASD FieldSpec) for the solar reflective wavelengths (0.4-2.5 µm). Soil properties were predicted using multivariate analysis techniques (partial least square regression). The spectra were resampled to operational imaging spectroscopy sensor characteristics (HyMAP and TASI-600). To assess the relevance of specific wavelength regions in the prediction, the drivers of the PLS models were interpreted with respect to the spectral characteristics of the soils' chemical and physical composition. The study