An Improved Communications Model for Underwater Sensor Networks

Underwater sensor network deployment can be quite difficult and expensive, thus much of the early development is limited to simulation work. There are some underwater physical channel models available in various simulation tools, but they are often overly generalized and rely on assumptions about the ocean as a whole. They are not appropriate for practical applications, as the ocean is such a diverse environment. In this paper, the authors present the development of an improved channel model based on the BELLHOP beam tracing program.