An environment-friendly spectrum decision strategy for underwater acoustic networks

As the expansion of marine exploration, an increasing number of scholars have turned to the research of underwater acoustic networks (UANs). Recently, much attention was focused on enabling acoustic communication in UANs, a single network. However, in the ocean exist not only UANs, artificial networks, but also natural networks including marine mammals. Thus, how to use spectrum efficiently, especially when marine mammals are present around the communication area, is easily neglected. To achieve the goal of protecting marine mammals and improving spectrum efficiency simultaneously, an environment-friendly spectrum decision strategy was proposed in the paper. The strategy features a position prediction method for marine mammals and an environment-friendly channel allocation scheme. The goal of position prediction is achieved through the combination of localization and speed measurement for marine mammals. Based on results of position prediction, the allocation scheme maximizes total network capacity on the condition of avoiding marine mammals' normal lives. Simulation results show that the localization method has a success rate of localization around 92% and a relatively small average localization error less than 10 m; speed measurement method also has a relatively small average velocity error compared with velocity of marine mammals; environment-friendly channel allocation scheme can work effectively as the locations of marine mammals change.