Characteristics of Underground Channel for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks

Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSN) constitute one of the promising application areas of the recently developed wireless sensor networking techniques. The main difference between WUSN and the terrestrial wireless sensor networks is the communication medium. The propagation characteristics of ElectroMagnetic (EM) waves in soil and the significant differences between propagation in air prevent a straightforward characterization of the underground wireless channel. To this end, in this paper, advanced channel models are proposed to completely characterize the underground wireless channel and lay out the foundations for efficient communication in this environment.