Environmental Communication Optimization in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

In Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UASNs) maintaining communication integrity is a significant challenge. This is largely due to the adverse physical properties of the medium of communication. The acoustic properties of an underwater environment change significantly with variations in weather. Despite these variations, the typical environment of an UASN remains highly reverberant and prone to multipath propagation. In order to reduce the negative impact on communication integrity in UASNs it is necessary to evaluate the impact of different types of communication devices, and determine if there are ways to minimize the detrimental effects of the medium on communication by taking advantage of the same physical properties that reduce communication integrity. Herein, several types acoustic transducers are evaluated over a range of simulated transmission distances. The results of this heuristic analysis lead to the formulation of a methodology by which communication can be optimized by using a change in depth. This methodology is heuristically verified using a combination of empirically gathered and simulated data.