Analysis of Underwater Acoustic Communication Channels

Abstract

AbstractThe underwater acoustic communication (UAC) channel presents many difficulties such as high frequency, space, and time selectivity, frequency-dependent noise, and significant range and band limitation on transmission. Traditional UAC channel models that model such channels primarily include environmental models based on experimental data; models that are developed using mathematical equations such as wave equations, modal methods, and parabolic equations; and using statistical distributions. These methods/models are often limited in their coverage and accurate representations of every possible UAC channel environment. It is also physically impractical and cost ineffective to try to measure/estimate each channel to determine its model. In this paper, the authors will present the analysis of UAC channels according to the UAC channel environments classified and presented in a prior work by the authors, in which cognitive intelligence is used in the selection of the appropriate channel representations according to each sensed environment. To the best knowledge of the authors, this type of analysis and representation of UAC channels with respect to each UAC environment has not been addressed in the literature to date and therefore presents a significant contribution.