An advanced channel framework for improved Underwater Acoustic Network simulations

Underwater Acoustic Networks (UANs) are an emerging technology that are being used to facilitate new aquatic applications in our water world. This is accomplished by linking underwater sensors, vehicles and devices together using acoustic communication. Network protocol development for UANs often relies on simulations because deploying real systems in the ocean is a resource heavy operation. However, acoustic communication performance is dynamic and dependent upon the environment. Therefore, simulations may not be entirely accurate. In this paper we introduce an advanced channel model that considers environmental impacts and real system characteristics on acoustic communication performance for use in an established open-source simulation environment, Aqua-Sim. We provide detailed simulation results and compare the results of our channel model with the existing simulation environment and against the results from a field experiment in the Chesapeake Bay from 2011.