Radar systems that infer wind speed by _measuring the backscattering cross section (plane-wave radiation _incident on a scattering object or a scattering medium, the ratio of the intensity scattered in the direction toward the source to the incident irradiance; also called radar cross section). Scatterometers can measure the received power of surface backscattering reflected from the surface of objects. According to a narrow definition, a microwave scatterometer may be a space borne sensor to measure the two dimensional velocity vectors of the sea wind, while according to the wider definition, it also involves air-borne sensors, as well as ground based sensors to measure the surface backscattering as well as volume scattering, such as rain radar.

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