The Doppler radar sensor in an artificial satellite, used to measure the scattering effect, or reflection, produced as the radar scans the Earth's surface.

Ocean scatterometers study the interaction between seas and the atmosphere, ocean circulation, and other phenomena that affect weather patterns and global climate. Scatterometers can also identify other environmental effects, such as the reduction of sea ice in the polar regions and the effects of deforestation of the Earth's rainforests.

A scatterometer was installed aboard Japan's Advanced Earth-Observing Satellite, launched in 1996.