Stochastic Link Modeling of Static Wireless Sensor Networks Over the Ocean Surface

Abstract

Despite the advantages that ocean surface Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) have over traditional ocean monitoring methods, ocean surface WSN research suffers from the lack of an accurate model that describes the stability of wireless links among sensor nodes. In this paper, we investigate ocean surface waves' effects on the Line-of-Sight (LoS) link between static sensors in a WSN. Specifically, we derive the blockage probability of LoS links between a transmitter and receiver pair due to wave movements, and analyze how environmental effects like wind speed affect it. Simulation results along with oceanographic measurements validate our analyses, making our model applicable to the design and planning of WSN in the ocean environment.