A passive sonar based underwater acoustic channel model for improved search and rescue operations in deep sea

Abstract

Active and passive sonar are the two types of empirical underwater acoustic channel models (UWACMs). Passive sonar UWACMs have applications in military, ocean exploration, and search and rescue (SAR) activities. However, high transmission loss (TL), multipath propagation, and ambient noise pose significant challenges to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and communication effectiveness. To address these challenges, this paper develops a UWACM based on the passive sonar equation method to determine SNR in deep-sea environments, specifically for SAR operations. Determining SNR involves characterizing signal propagation in terms of TL. Existing models lack analysis of TL and SNR for various deep-sea multipath propagation scenarios relevant to SAR applications. Therefore, this paper analyses TL and SNR for both direct and various multipath propagation modes, including surface reflection (SR), surface duct (SD), bottom bounce (BB), convergence zone (CZ), deep sound channel (DSC), and reliable acoustic paths (RAPs) in the deep sea. This work aims to quantify the detection capabilities of underwater location beacons (ULBs) under various deep-sea scenarios and configurations. By analyzing ULB signal propagation characteristics, this research seeks to address key challenges related to ULB performance and ultimately improve SAR operations. The results of the proposed model significantly correlate with existing literature, confirming its accuracy.